Making every bite count

Running, yoga and burritos

2010-01-11T23:00:00.002-05:00

I try to live each day to exhaustion. Today, I succeeded and surpassed that goal, yet I'm still bursting with energy.

6:30 alarm became 6:45 and eventually 7:15. I slept in my base layer of running clothes, layered up and warmed up with my Whittle My Middle exercises. I ventured into the 19 degree morning for a 25 minute run. Slow and steady, I ran around Newport.

My day was busy and uneventful. I spent a good deal of time talking about running clothes and races--and my impending doom, I mean strength training challenge--with my coworker.

After work, my favorite yoga class of the week: Led ashtanga primary series at Yogasana. Class started at 6:30; I got into my car at 8:12. That's about 90 minutes of yogic bliss. We did primary series through bhujapidasana, then added hanumanasana for fun. My right side splits are almost back, and my left are as good as they ever were. I am respecting my edge and not pushing. Torn hamstrings are painful and take a long time to heal. I speak from experience.

Tonight, we focused on lengthening the neck, observing and nurturing the backbends throughout primary series.

In addition to deeper, more obvious backbends like urdhva mukha svanasana (upward facing dog) and urdhva dhanurasana (full wheel), there are mini backbends scattered throughout: in utkatasana (fierce/chair), in tadasana/samasthiti (mountain), in virabhdrasana (warrior). Not just a chance to lean back, these backbends are a chance to open the chest, allow the heart to lead and lengthen and strengthen the neck.

I twisted deeply in my marichysana series, binding in C and D and allowing my forehead to easily rest in B. My nose and knee were intimately acquainted tonight.

In ardha baddha padmottanasana, my nose met knee for one breath on right, one on left. I held utthita hasta padanghustasana on right, save a couple of touches against the wall with my elbow. On left, I didn't fully extend in B, but I held myself.

My vinyasas felt strong; I took one step closer to my heels in urdhva dhanurasana.

Sirsasana wasn't quite on, but I practiced for 15 minutes when I came home and threw in adho mukha vrksasana (handstand) for fun.

I returned home to half a burrito from La Mexicana smothered in hot sauce. The perfect dinner, along with a 3 oz pour of Chakana Malbec 2006.

I made spicy almond noodles (ginger/garlic/almond butter/hot pepper/tamari over whole wheat angel hair with snow peas and onions) for lunches, and a batch of black bean and lentil chili is in the Crockpot Fred's mom left here on New Year's. I've never really used a crockpot; vegetarian cooking is quick, but this should be a nice change.

A long soak in an Epsom bath was necessary, and now I'm in bed with Paolo Coelho's "Eleven Minutes," most of which I read in French a couple of years back. I'm going to finish it in English, then return to the French to see how much I remember.

My French is AWFUL these days; I rarely speak it though I have two French friends. Working on that.

Tomorrow I have day two of half marathon training group. We've only got a three-mile run, then Im heading to Trader Joe's to pick up groceries--yay, gift card! I'm getting up early for yoga--the goal is primary series in the A.M. Oh, and my 100-pushups challenge test is at 10:30. My arms are sore, so I'm a bit nervous.

Wish me luck.

Simmering beans and an exercise in passive voice

2010-01-08T21:51:00.002-05:00

Life is quieter, less complicated. More complicated at the same time.

It's a Friday night, and I dropped him off at a jazz club to celebrate a friend's birthday. I hit the grocery and silently roamed the aisles, sticking to my list, getting excited over coupons and minding my budget.

I led with my heart all day. A small victory in the battle of good and evil.

Black beans are simmering in the rice cooker, dotted with garlic, cumin, onion, hot pepper flakes and a bit of salt. Tonight, I parboiled the beans with baking soda for 15 minutes, drained and rinsed, then rinsed the rice cooker. To the cooker, I added half an onion, a handful of dried tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, 2T cumin, a hearty pinch each of pepper flakes and salt. That cooked for a minute, until I could smell the spices, then I added white wine, about a cup. In went my pound of beans.

They’ll become the basis for black bean hummus, to be eaten with raw carrots (me) and cauliflower (him) as snacks all week, and chili (dinner and lunch for a couple of days).

Planning menus makes me feel very much in control of what's feeding me. And with

The tomatoes were from the farmers market. I dried them with oregano and olive oil this summer, in the dehydrator my grandmother gave me. It's no Excelsior, but it was free!

"Tether" from "All That We Let In" plays in the background, Amy's and Emily's voices bringing me back to 2003, when I was just out of college and felt like I ruled the world, and I did, through a haze of rum and diet Coke. My, how life changes. I love the Indigo Girls. Since 16, they've been my favorite.

And for that, I am grateful.

Tonight I sit, on a stool made by my grandfather and father, at the island in my kitchen, in my apartment that was once the Sunday School rooms of the church.
I'm dipping my toe back into writing personally. This time, this is for me. A chance to reflect, to slow down, to breathe.

I don't want wine. I want water, to hydrate me for the first day of half marathon training.

I'm in a strange, introverted mood, perhaps influenced by the two days I've spent holed up in the apartment avoiding the snow. Thursday I worked from home, and today as well. Tonight's journey to Kroger were my first steps beyond my living room.

Last night, I was energized: I cleaned the kitchen, cooked dinner, did two loads of laundry (though those along with two others from last weekend are folded and in limbo, awaiting their safe returns to closets, shelves and drawers. Soon. Tomorrow, perhaps.), planned next week's meals, helped my sister with her French homework and tutored my mother on the intricacies of Facebook.

Today I felt lethargic. Work dragged, though I was plugging away at interesting projects. I noshed. I snacked. I unnecessarily carb-loaded. Tonight I crave fruit.
I cleaned the kitchen, trimmed the cat's nails, practiced yoga (standing primary series, held for 7-10 breaths). And now I'm listening to the kitchen timer tick away the minutes, tapping away, as the beans simmer.

Back to yoga.

Slightly cliché and unusual for me: Incense was burned, Krishna Das was played, clothes were stripped. Poses were held. Breathe was stretched.

Head touched floor in Prasarita Padottanasana A and D; hair touched in B and C.

Nose met knee on left and right in Parsvottanasana and Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana. The nose and the knee are quite keen on each other. Like other marvels of the body, they fit together perfectly.

Utthita Hasta Padanghustasana was held on left throughout A-D; on right A-B before faltering.

This year's goal: lead with the heart, drop the shoulders, lift the chest, and pull the belly in. Well, that's really four goals. Those are the running motivations for deepening my practice.

Along with a daily headstand (to come after I sign off) and stronger, more fluid vinyasas, the aforementioned are fueling me. Body, mind, spirit in harmony.

Feeling happy.
Feeling content.

Forgive the ramblings. Tonight, I write, but I do not edit.

Under construction: lost my template :(

2010-01-05T22:08:00.002-05:00

So... in trying to edit my template before transferring to WordPress to my new domain, I deleted my pretty pretty template.
Thus, we have the Green Monster. And not the good kind. :(
Give me a week, and all will be fixed.

My Best Granola

2009-12-22T00:20:00.000-05:00

If there is a better combination than yogurt, fruit and granola, I haven't found it. In my breakfast fantasies come true, thick, creamy, tangy Greek yogurt provides a base for tart and sweet fresh berries, while crunchy, sweet and salty granola offers a delightful contrast in flavor and texture.

Granola is PRICEY! There are a few brands I really like, but I can't justify buying a small bag for $4, when I can make pounds of granola for much less.

Once you know the basics of granola making, your imagination and pantry are your only limits. I started making my own a couple of years back, and honestly, I don't use a recipe anymore. I have two versions: a molasses one and a maple-almond butter one, but I never measure or use the recipes.

It isn't a science. You need oil, sweetener, some dried fruit, nuts, seeds and maybe some spices.

I prefer molasses or maple syrup for my sweetener, coconut oil to crisp it up, and plenty of ground flax and chia seeds for nutrition and flair.

Most often, I make the almond butter-maple granola. It's really easy.

Maple-Almond Butter Granola

Ingredients:
1/2 c maple syrup

1/4 c coconut oil

1/4 c almond butter

1 T cinnamon (or more if you prefer your granola to have a stronger cinnamon flavor)

2 1/2 c. rolled oats

1/4 c ground flax

1/4 c chia seeds

1/2 c chopped nuts/seeds (almonds, walnuts, pepitas)

1/4 c unsweetened coconut

1/2 c mixed dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, raisins)

liberal sprinkle coarse salt

Directions:

Mix maple syrup, coconut oil and almond butter together. If your coconut oil is at room temperature, you might need to melt it first.

Mix oats, coconut, and cinnamon together, then add to wet ingredients.

Pour onto a baking sheet in an even layer. (I use a silicone baking sheet liner, but you can coat the pan with nonstick cooking spray if you prefer.) Bake at 300 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. I like my granola to be somewhat "raw."

Immediately upon removing the granola from the oven, add the chia, flax, seeds/nuts and dried fruit. (The fruit swells and gets sticky in the oven, and raw nuts/seeds retain more of their nutrition.)

Add a sprinkle of kosher salt and toss well. The salt really brings out the sweetness and other flavors. Makes 15 1/4-cup servings!

Calories: 197.5
Total Fat: 11.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
Protein: 4.0 g

I gave away this granola to friends and family this year. It was a big hit!

Peppermint Bark

2009-12-20T00:08:00.004-05:00

1 package dark chocolate chips
1 package white chocolate chips
6 candy canes

Remove candy canes from wrapper, break into small pieces, then place in a blender or food processor and pulse until mostly crushed.

On the stove over low heat, melt each chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan. Stir often, until chocolate is almost melted, then remove from heat and stir again.

Spread waxed paper over two baking sheets. Using a spatula, spread 3/4 of the dark chocolate over the sheet pan in an even layer. Sprinkle half the candy canes over the chocolate. Repeat with the white chocolate. Drizzle the remaining dark chocolate atop the white chocolate bark, and drizzle the remaining white chocolate over the dark chocolate bark.

Let harden, then break into small pieces.

Le grand retour

2009-12-03T23:33:00.002-05:00

Friends, I have been remiss. Alas, my day job is fully satisfying. 'Tis my dream: To be surrounded by fully supportive, wonderful people whose mission aligns completely with my moral and ethical code.

I sleep well.

Except for tonight.

Lately, my dear old blog has been neglected, as hass my creative spirit. I no longer photograph food. I come home from yoga, a run or the gym starving, like those damn vampires in the series I dislike so much. I am, as Heather so eloquently deemed it, hangry.

My food is quite often a mishmash of Mexican or a conglomeration of Korean foods. But it's good and plentiful. I miss sharing recipes and taking notes. I feel too cool for school after three summers of sniffing produce and feeling up tomatoes. Have I gone hard, like the supermarket produce that has once again begun to appear in my cart?

I vow to return. Weekly, or better. I'm good enough (better, actually), smart enough, and doggone it, people like, nay, love me.

It's time to prioritize, focus on me and share my good eats.

But first, I must learn how to photograph food to save my life.

Time for a change.

2009-01-04T18:06:00.005-05:00

Hello, old friend. Remember me? I'm the dedicated nutrition-focused foodie who started you all those years ago. I've neglected you. It's not you, it's me. My new job involves a great deal more writing than did my last job, though my last job was reporting at a busy daily newspaper. I write about and discuss food all day long. When I come home, I still cook, but I don't feel like writing about food. I'm putting you to rest, but I'll add new recipes to a different site, http://www.sparkrecipes.com/. Find my recipes here.

I need to take a break from public or semipublic writing for awhile. I need to write for me. No one else. Princessveggie was fun, and I promise to return.

I will very infrequently post here, and I'll sometime be posting nonfood related blogs at princessstepfinqueencity.com.

Love, Stepf

What $40 will get you at Findlay Market

2008-09-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

1/2 lb raw milk gouda

1 dozen farm fresh eggs

1 loaf harvest bread (with polenta. rye and buckwheat)

1 green pepper

2 yellow peppers

basket orange slicer tomatoes

2 lbs heirloom tomatoes

1/2 of a monstrous watermelon (the other half will be my friend Jenny's)

bundle of sage

bundle of tarragon

bundle of parsley

bag of spinach

4 small knob onions

That made last night's dinner. I made a batch of pesto, added two tomatoes to the remnants still in the blender and pureed. Cooked up some whole wheat shells, to which I added the sauce and briefly cooked. Chopped another orange tomato, some basil and a 1/4 yellow pepper. Served alongside creamed spinach.

Yesterday's brunch, again from my market bounty.

Two slices harvest bread with a poached egg, a slice of gouda and one tomato sprinkled with tarragon. There is also a sad example of an egg cooked in the cast iron skillet.

I lived in Athens for four years, but I rarely left campus and only left the city limits on my way home. There is an entire world beyond the four greens of OU, a world of organic, local farming, a rich agricultural history and plenty of quirky foods. (Schnuckelputz and pawpaws? Only in Athens County.)

Until today, I hadn't tried a paw-paw, and I mistook them for plums yesterday.

Things I've made recently

2008-09-21T15:07:00.003-04:00

Sadly, photos are lacking

My larder is stocked with:

1 pound of gave-rosemary glazed roasted almonds

6 jars of kimchi for my co-op

40 jars of pear sauce with molasses and cinnamon (yes, 40. and they're not here. They're at Chad's, ready to be distributed.)

3 trays of roasted peppers

2 trays of oven-dried tomatoes

countless ice-cube trays of pesto (sans parmesan so it freezes better)

1 jar tarragon vinegar

1 bottle hot sauce

endless jars of salsa (all gone, thanks to Fred)

Why I do what I do...

2008-09-21T14:54:00.006-04:00

Some people are dog people. Others are kid people. I'm a vegetable person.

I love 'em, but only in season. Don't you dare feed me asparagus in August, and if you try to feed me a cold tomato, I'll stab you with my fork.

(Left: A smattering of heirlooms from the Thistlehair Farms booth at Findlay Market.)

I don't buy produce from grocery stores.

I keep most vegetables on the counter so their taste fully develops.

I shun cold tomatoes, lettuce that's straight from the fridge and mealy apples.

I shop the perimeter of stores.

I joined a food co-op to ensure I always have local, organic food.

And I urge you to do the same, if you're able.

My body, after two years of eating locally and organically, has completely adapted. I'm almost fed up with tomatoes, and the beauties I've roasted, pureed and frozen will tide me over until next year. Sorry, but we're not meant to eat insalata caprese year-round in Ohio, nor should we be expected to endure cold mealy, anemic supermarket Flavr Savr tomatoes. (A misnomer indeed.)

At left, a salad made from co-op and market produce: Pea sprouts, avocado, tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar.

Breakfast for dinner: Swiss chard pancakes and salmon with maple glaze

2008-09-21T14:23:00.007-04:00

Two Fridays ago, Mark Bittman's recipe of the day was for Spinach Pancakes. I substituted Swiss chard, which I steamed in a bit of water. The day-glo pink cooking water went in the batter, too! I altered his recipe a bit:

3 cups Swiss chard, chopped and steamed in about 1/2 c water (dice the stems, and reserve the cooking water, which is full of nutrients)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 1/2 to 2 cups plain lowfat yogurt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter, plus unmelted butter for cooking Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the yogurt, eggs and butter, mixing well. Fold in Swiss chard and the cooking water.

The salmon was cooked very simply. After rubbing it with a spice blend Fred got from Whole Foods, I seared it in a cast iron skillet then briefly broiled it. I removed the salmon to a plate to rest. I added 2T butter to the skillet, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan, then added about 1/2 c white wine. After that reduced briefly, I added 1/4 cup maple syrup and allowed all to slightly reduce. (Do this over medium heat if you're not using cast iron, which has enough residual heat that additional stovetop cooking isn't necessary.)

Serve salmon alongside 2-3 pancakes, drizzling with the maple "syrup."

Breakfast for dinner, for grownups.

This is what I get for trying to be a locavore.

2008-09-15T19:40:00.004-04:00

Thank you, Mother Nature.

I spent every Saturday morning at Findlay Market, where I packed my bag to the brim with local, organic produce. An average of $50 a week, so half could fill the freezer to ensure a bountiful winter. Any salad tomato that was overly ripe went in a bag in the freezer. Romas were halved, doused with olive oil and left in a warm oven overnight. The heirlooms were sliced and diced, mashed and chopped. In sauces and salsas, salads and soups, I lovingly sacrificed the Garden Peaches, the Mortgage Lifters, the Green Zebras, the Chocolate Cherries and the Yellow Romas.

I drove 60 miles with three friends on a muggy and mosquito-filled Saturday, to the largest raspberry farm in the east.

I risked life and limb (OK, so once a car almost hit me while I was on by bike) to transport succulent local plums, a dozen of the season's first red peppers, and some ripe tomatillos home with me.

I froze and canned, refrigerated and stored away.

And then, Hurricane Ike (or his remnants) hit Ohio. Yes. A hurricane hit the Midwest. 75 mile-per-hour winds knocked out power, sent shingles spinning into transformers, starting fires across the city.

I lost power, but I didn't worry. Surely it would return by the time we returned from a dinner at La Mexicana. But, no, it didn't. Just in case, we stopped to buy a 20-lb bag of ice. The fridge and freezer were on life support and each passing minute meant that my beloved local produce was one degree closer to death (or spoilage).

Thank goodness for good friends. The power outage lasted another four days, but the contents of my freezer were safely stowed in Sean and Katy's freezer. My bountiful fridge was safe for another day, thanks to that mighty bag of ice and another. I finally took the perishables (eggs from Thistlehair Farms, 2 quarts of organic plain lowfat yogurt, an unopened container of soymilk, some vegan butter and a hunk of parmesan) to work and stashed them in the fridge in my Whole Foods bag for a couple of days. The condiments were left in the fridge with the dwindling ice supply In all, we lost about $30 worth of goods, mostly dried up and unidentifiable condiments. (I don't remember buying blackberry jelly from Trader Joe's, and when was the last time we ate the coriander chutney? It contains cashews!)

We used the outage as a chance to purge the fridge without guilt of wasting food (the ultimate sin). As Chad had about 100 pounds of apples and pears, the now-empty glass jars were quite useful!

Food was rescued from Sean and Katy's on Friday night, and now all is safe in my freezer (again, purged of unrecognizable leftovers, now mushy frozen veg and bags of scraps for stock).

What did I do Saturday morning? Went to Findlay Market and restocked, of course!

Actually, it costs $1.05.

2008-09-15T19:38:00.002-04:00

Such simple salsas

2008-06-21T22:53:00.006-04:00

Now that tomato season is here, those luscious red, ripe fruits are no longer verboden chez moi. All winter long, I shun the anemic, mealy supermarket tomatoes and long for the days when you can smell the tomatoes before you actually see them. Salmonella be damned. If you buy organic, local tomatoes, there is no worry. It's salsa time! Dear friend Katie in D.C. loved the mango salsa we made when I visited last fall, and she commented last week in a fluster. She'd forgotten the ingredient list! Guess what? With salsa, there are no rules, no recipes, no "ingredient list." Out mango version was a bit fancy: tomatoes, red peppers, red onion, jalapeno, mango, a bit of salt, pepper and lime juice.

I'm very fond of pico de gallo: tomatoes, white onions, a bit of jalapeno, cilantro or parsley and salt and pepper.
And tonight I made an "Italian salsa": tomatoes, basil, red onion, green garlic, red peppers, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. So good. (Photo above.)
I could eat sals plain, as a salad. But it also works as a pasta sauce (the heat from the pasta warms the salsa just enough to release the flavor.), a sandwich topping or a dip.
Salsa can be made with any vegetable, any fruit, in any comination. Roast the veggies or leave them raw -- it doesn't matter. Too bland? Add salt, a pinch of sugar or a dash of vinegar or citrus juice.
I love pineapple with cilantro, onion and jalapeno. Or mango with red peppers. Or tomatoes, green peppers, any onion, any fresh herb, and pretty much anything else you have lying around.
Tomatillos are great roasted and added to a salsa.
Add cucumbers. (Try cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, and onion.)
The list is endless. Mix and match what you like. Experiment. Fool around with some combinations until you find something that works for you. (ooh, I LOVE raspberry-chipotle salsa!)
Fat-free, fresh, raw, perfect.
Every bite counts.

PrincessVeggie is home tonight... cooking up a storm.

2008-06-21T21:59:00.006-04:00

I'm taking a hiatus from my second career as a social butterfly to enjoy my fabulous apartment and my even-more-fabulous boyfriend. We spent the day at the Gaiam outlet (headstand chair!) and Ikea and made our place feel a bit like home. (Our mattresses are happily off the ground, and we've finally got a desk. I needed workspace to get the creative juices flowing again!)
Tabitha, my Little Sister, is here tonight for her first sleepover. After a busy evening spent cooking, we're (well, she's) watching a Disney Channel movie.
To say that my early morning Findlay Market trip was prodigious would be a serious litote, comme on dit en francais. $50 or so later, the fridge is bursting!
2 avocados
5 lemons
5 tomatoes
1 dozen farm-fresh eggs
1 bunch amethyst-colored "green"onions
1 head green garlic
3 zucchini
1 bunch basil
1 bunch cilantro
1 pint mulberries
1 bunch grape leaves
1 pint sweet pie cherries
1 pint strawberries
1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch of the season's final asparagus

(oh, and two homemade chocolate chip cookies to lure Fred from bed...)
This joined the produce leftover from last week--half an overflowing bag of rainbow chard and a head of organic broccoli.
Yeah, I'm a bit overwhelmed. Couple this with two separate batches of beans that I soaked today, and the kitchen was blissfully full of goodies! (Mark Bittmann just taught me that cooked dried beans can be frozen! Fabulous news! No longer will I waste dried beans or worry about hurrying to cook them on a busy weeknight. They're cheaper than canned, and there's no worries about the lining in the cans.)
Hummus is one of the easiest dips to make, and it's one of my favorites. Sure, it's on every menu and in every incarnation, (Jeff Ruby's soon-to-be-no-more Tropicana does an edamame version, how many times have you seen black bean versions, and even lentil hummus.) but it's a classic.
My co-worker Nicole makes really good hummus with lots of cumin and garlic. I made a version of that tonight. Tahini is the key to really great hummus, and so are really soft garbanzo/ceci/chickpeas.
More musings later...

What I did on my break from blogging...

2008-06-03T16:46:00.012-04:00

I've been busy...

enjoying the first berries of the season ... and green beans...

and gobbling up fresh asparagus. And we entertained for Mother's Day with an Italian feast: And I've perfected my romesco dip recipe. It's vegan!I went to the ballet. (Love that dress!)

Followed that up with a lovely homemade lemon-ricotta tart with raspberry sauce.

Leftover beer (Mt. Carmel stout) makes a great chocolate cake (vegan!).

And most importantly, I developed an addiction to tamari almonds. Recipes to come...

Heavenly

2008-05-26T21:30:00.004-04:00

Multigrain Shadeau bread with organic, raw milk, local Cheddar cheese (made from milk from grass-fed cows)

The perfect Saturday afternoon snack.
And look at all that whole-grain goodness!

I declare this...

2008-05-26T21:12:00.002-04:00

IMG_3411
Originally uploaded by sromine

... the summer of the mojito.
I know, I know. Mojitos were soooo three years ago, but I don't care. Last summer, Fred and I were all about gin and tonics, and exactly one year ago I earned the nickname Gin-Tin. (Apparently because I smelled like gin the night after we imbibed in a few too many at home.
Friday night we headed to a trendy Mexican restaurant called Nada and had caipirinhas. Brazil's national drink, the caipirinha is the mojito's sexier, more sophisticated cousin. (It's lime, a sugarcane liqueur called cachaca and sugar. Mmm.)
Light and refreshing, they pack quite a punch and really sneak up on you.
The next day during my weekly trip to Findlay Market, I found a bunch of fresh and fragrant mint. Madison's was offering 5 limes for $2, so an idea soon formed.
I called Fred, who was running errands with his mom, and told him to bring home club soda and rum. (After I explained what a mojito was.)
It's no caipirinha, but the mojito is pretty darn good. And unlike a gin and tonic, it's a universally appealing drink.
I can still throw back a few G&Ts, but this summer, at our place, it's all about the mojito.

schnuckelputz

2008-05-24T16:43:00.002-04:00

DSCN4673
Originally uploaded by sromine

I'm in love. Ginger-lemon wine. Organic, local. Sweet, effervescent. And, yes, it's called schnuckelputz. Get it from Shade Winery in Athens County.http://www.shadewinery.com/

My friend Sarah is bringing me a case next weekend. Ah.

Urban living

2008-05-24T16:08:00.003-04:00

About a month ago, my boyfriend of one year, Fred, and I moved from our respective apartments in the urban 'burbs to a loft-style flat in the city's most diverse and historic neighborhood, Over-the-Rhine.
We're three blocks from an independent coffee house, two blocks from the city's second-oldest bar, two blocks from our favorite wine bar, and about six blocks from Findlay Market, the city's public market.
I'm in an urban foodie paradise.
People who live in downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and the urban burbs -- and those who are mulling the big move to the heart o' Queen City -- love to complain about the lack of a grocery store.
"I'd loooovvve to move downtown," the yuppies say, "but there's no grocery store downtown."
Au contraire, mes amis.
But there is.
There is a Kroger located just a few blocks from my apartment, at 14th and Vine streets. (In fact, it's just four blocks north of the Kroger headquarters. It's a bit intimidating because, frankly, it's not in the gentrified part of OTR. There's an endless stream of solicitors, panhandlers and loiterers outside, most of them African-American males. It's small: no olive bar, sushi counter or endless spread of organic produce.
But there is organic soymilk (in three flavors), whole-wheat spaghetti, and tofu.
That's good enough for me.
It also has the staples like whole-wheat flour, canned beans (not sure if they're organic because I've been living off my stash of dried of late), and plenty of the junk food staples.
Hmm, sounds like a grocery store to me.
Yes, it's not in the safest part of town, and no, I wouldn't really go out of my way to go there after dark. But it's a grocery store, and it's functional enough for me.
And... we've got something better than a grocery store. We've got Findlay Market.
Each Saturday morning, I rise early (I aim for 8:30), shower and gather my canvas bags. I put on my iPod and walk to the market.
The farmers market is in full swing. Asparagus is sadly gone, but in its place are strawberries, spinach, baby lettuce, and herbs whose intoxicating scents follow you to the next booth. (Last week, when we were out of town was the last good week for asparagus. The few bunchs that remained were sad and limp or of gargantuan girth. Dommage.) Whatever I can't get from the farmers market, I pick up at Madison's, a fabulous family run produce store. They've recently expanded, so I can get their son's homemade gelato, prepared salads, spreads, and soups, plus seasonal delicacies like morels (I must admit that I've never coughed up the cash for them!), fiddlehead ferns (think of them like curled up asparagus) and ramps (ramps and 'taters, anyone?)!
Next door, I carefully move sideways through the narrow aisles of Dean's Mediterranean Imports, from whose packed shelves I get roasted red peppers, sheep's milk feta, raw almonds, tahini and bulk grains and pulses. Two weeks ago, he had miniature, mouth-puckering green plums, soft and fuzzy green almonds, and fresh fava beans in baskets near the entrance.
For harissa, chipotle powder, or cinnamon, I head to see De Stewart in the market house.
My bags ready to burst, I carry them home.
I lovingly put away my produce. Herbs cut a fresh cut, then go into glass jars filled with water. portobello caps go into a paper bag, bananas, tomatoes and avocados rest in a large sky-blue blue ceramic bowl on the counter. Onions and sweet potatoes go in the pantry.
I feel very rich when I've got a kitchen full of veg.

I'm back

2008-05-19T20:17:00.002-04:00

Much has changed in my life since I last posted. I've got a new job, a new apartment, a new fitness regime... I'm happy, really happy.
And I've been cooking like crazy.
However, I'm in desperate need of a new computer or more memory. My laptop is on its last leg. My camera battery is currently dead, and I don't know where the charger is at the moment. (ah, the joys of moving.)
So I'm back, but the better than ever part will have to wait.

Carrot cake perfected

2008-04-01T22:37:00.003-04:00

I'm been experimenting with carrot cake for the past few weeks. I think I've finally perfected it. It's a variation of the recipe from "The Joy of Vegan Baking."
3 T ground flax seed
1/2 c apple cider or water
1/3 c canola oil
2/3 c canned pumpkin
1 2/3 c grated carrots
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
1 cup dried fruit (dates, prunes, raisins, cranberries, etc.)
1 T molasses
1 1/3 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flax seed and cider/water in food processor. When it becomes a gelatinous mass, add the oil, molasses and pumpkin and continue to process until smooth.
Scrape into large bowl, and add fruit, walnuts and carrots. Stir well.
In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well, then add to wet ingedients. Mix well but don't overmix.
Bake in parchment-lined pan for 30 minutes.
Nutrition facts: (calories/g fat/g fiber)
The cake is not quite as good for me as I would like: 385 calories for 1/8 of the cake (a hearty serving), 14.6 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber (32 percent of your daily recommended intake!) I'm going to omit the oil next time for all pumpkin and use less sugar.
3 T ground flax seed (180/5/10)
1/2 c apple cider or water (60 /0/0)
1/3 c canola oil (642/72)
2/3 c canned pumpkin (40/0/3.5)
1 2/3 c grated carrots (60/0/5)
1/2 c walnuts, chopped (420/40/6)
1 cup dried fruit (dates, prunes, raisins, cranberries, etc.)
6 dates (240/0/3)
6 prunes (160/0/5)
1/4 c raisins (125/0/1.25)
1 T molasses (50)
1 1/3 c whole wheat flour (545/0/20)
2/3 c sugar (570)
1 1/2 t baking soda -
1 t baking powder -
1 t cinnamon --
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t salt

The sweet spot

2008-02-19T19:46:00.002-05:00

Sugar is no friend of mine. Empty calories, those white crystals get the cold shoulder in my kitchen. Stevia, maple syrup, honey, even fruit juices are good stand-ins with a bit more nutritional value. Sugar goes against the "making every bite count" philosophy. That said, I know that sometimes I have to swallow my pride and make nice with the sweet stuff, especially in baked goods.
This weekend I picked up my new baking bible, "The Joy of Vegan Baking," at Park + Vine. I'm in love. I'm not vegan, and I probably never will be, but I enjoy vegan baking. Giving baked goods that harm the health of your loved ones brings bad karma, à mon avis.
I have already tried out the carrot cake recipe and delivered a mini version to my friend Dan. Instead of eggs, this recipe calls for flaxseeds and water. When whipped with a hand blender or in a food processor, the flax breaks down, turns light and becomes a thick, foamy cream similar to a nut butter. Instead of butter, the recipe used canola oil (I used olive oil because that was all I had).
But the sugar. Oh, the sugar. During my recent trip to the natural foods store in my mom's hometown, I bought what I later realized was evaporated cane juice. The grains are similar in size to plain old granulated sugar, but the color is slightly darker.
Sugar, I recently discovered, is not vegan. Cane sugar is processed using charcoal, which usually is from an animal source, bone char. According to VegSource.com, the use of bone char in refining sugar is a touchy subject. The bone char is so far removed from animal matter that it can be called kosher pareve, which means it neither contains meat nor milk. However, vegans disagree.
For me, the matter of refinement is what bothers me. Why not just leave the sugar in as pure a state as possible?
A decade ago, wandering down the sugar aisle of a traditional grocery store would have yielded few choices: light and brown sugar, white sugar, powdered sugar, and sugar substitutes.
Today, those sugars have plenty of company: Turbinado, sucanat, Splenda, evaporated cane juice, raw sugar...
What are those sugars and how do they "work"?
Granulated sugar is the stuff in five-pound bags. White, sweet, grainy. It comes from either sugarcane or sugar beets. The white color comes from treatment wih phosphoric acid, then filtration through charcoal (this is where the bone char is used).
Brown sugar is either a processed white sugar with molasses added or partially unrefined sugar that still has molasses attached.
Powdered or confectioners sugar is simply granulated sugar ground to a fine consistency, with constarch or another anticaking substance added.
Artificial sweeteners never have a place in my kitchen, and they shouldn't have one in yours. Therefore, I'm ignoring their existance. Use real sugar or go without.
Turbinado is a kind of raw sugar (those "Sugar in the Raw" packets are turbinado). It's a kind of sugar cane extract, with little molasses and a light golden color. It is made by steaming raw sugar.
Sucanat, or Sugar cane natural, is unrefined cane sugar. It is evaporated cane juice. Sucanat is the best choice; it has the least amount of sucrose.

veggie meatballs

2008-02-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

My latest obsession is veggie meatballs. My first inspiration was Valerie Williams of Five Star Foodies, which is the subject of my column on Wednesday. She's coming out with a veggie burger made from artichokes and cashew flour. Unfortunately, I have a cashew allergy. A few days later, I had one of the best falafels I've had in a long time, at Jordan Valley around the corner from work. And then this morning, I caught an episode of Bobby Flay's "Throwdown." The challenge? Spaghetti and meatballs.
I set to work. I got a new grinder for Christmas, so now one is strictly for coffee and the other is for grains, seeds and spices. I tend to push the limits of my appliances and have burned the motors out on a couple of gadgets already. I was surprised that my little grinder could tackle chickpeas, and soon I had a batch of chickpea flour. (Later, I realized that lentils are far easier to grind and substituted lentil flour for chickpea flour.)
Veggie-ball No. 1
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 c chickpea flour*
1/4 bell pepper
1/4 onion
1 teaspoon harissa (a North African spice blend)
In a food processor, place chickpeas, pepper and onion. pulse until a coarse paste forms. Add the chickpea flour and spices, then pulse again until well mixed.

Shape balls and refrigerate for a few hours to allow them to set.
Veggie-balls No. 2
2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 c lentil flour
1/4 bell pepper
1/2 onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1 t ginger
3 cubes frozen cilantro (or handful of fresh)
3 cloves garlic
1 carrot, roughly chopped
Combine all ingredients except flour in food processor; pulse until a coarse paste forms. Add flour and pulse again until well-incorporated. Shape into balls and refrigerate so balls can set.
Veggie loaf
6 slices dark rye bread
1 egg
3 small carrots, chopped
1/2 onion
1/4 bell pepper
1 t dried oregano
8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic
Pulse veggies and garlic in food processor until well chopped. Add bread and spices, pulse again. Add egg and pulse until mixed. Place in greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then top with pureed tomatoes or ketchup and bake another 10 minutes.
This tastes deceptively like meatloaf!

*Place dried beans or legumes in a clean coffee grinder and pulse until a powder forms.

weeknight meals

2008-02-03T18:24:00.000-05:00

My body feels really good right now. I've been eating well and doing yoga. I feel strong, lean and healthy.
This week was full of great food, only some of which was photographed.
A simple salad made from odds and ends around Fred's place is near the top of the heap: a head of red romaine, a can of organic black beans (drained, rinsed, with two cubes of frozen basil and a pinch of red pepper flakes), a slice of cornbread, and a guacamole dressing (an avocado, 2 T yogurt, 2 diced roasted red peppers, 4 chopped green onions and a pinch of red pepper flakes).
I had quite a bounty of produce lasst week and integrated greens into quite a few meals.
I've been thinking about Swiss chard as an alternative to cabbage for rolls. I made a quick dinner last Tuesday after yoga and ended up with a great new snack idea: Instead of throwing out the tough, fibrous stalks, I cut them off and filled them with almond butter. What a fun replacement for celery stalks. If you used rainbow chard, I think kids would love these. The taste is milder than celery, but the texture is the same.
I placed roasted red pepper chickpea spread and a sprinkling of onion and pepper inside a Swiss chard leaf, then covered it with some leftover curry sauce. I baked them for 15 minutes at 350.

retro goodies for 50s birthday party

2008-01-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

Korean feast for the fam

2008-01-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

My family had never tried Korean food, so I made them a few dishes on Sunday. My sister Kaitie wanted to try sushi, so I made (above, left) California rolls (more American than Korean or Japanese), which she then refused to try. The rest of us liked them. Korean food can be spicy, so I opted for bulgogi (above, right) and broiled tofu with bulgogi marinade.
Bulgogi
1 pound beef, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 c sesame oil

2 T grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1/2 c soy sauce, reduced sodium
2 T sesame seeds
2 T sugar
4 green onions, chopped
3 carrots, cut into large sticks
Mix and soak beef and vegetables for an hour or so. Broil on high until beef is no longer pink. (About 10-15 minutes.) Serve with rice and steamed veggies.
The bulgogi was a hit. There were no leftovers.
Kimchi soup with seafood, tofu and poached eggs was another story. Plenty of leftovers, even though everyone at least tried it. Too spicy, too sour, too odd, too many vegetables. It wasn't a favorite of anyone but me.

I also made: cucumber salad, which was a hit. (2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped; 2 T sesame oil; 2 T soy sauce, 1 T sesame seeds. Mix and serve.)

Seafood pancake (1 green onion and 1 carrot, minced; 1 egg; 1 cup flour; handful mixed frozen seafood. I use Trader Joe's mixed squid-shrimp-scallops. Mix all ingredients together and pour in omelet pan, which has been coated with sesame oil. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve warm or at room temperature. I served the beef with lettuce, but no one liked it that way. The plate of lettuce went untouched.

Organic food... in McConnelsville?

2008-01-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

Between ages 6 and 18, I lived in McConnelsville, a small town on the Muskingum River in southeastern Ohio. It's the kind of place where people who have lived there for years are still considered outsiders, where teenagers go cruising and "mudding," where 4-H and FFA members miss school for the entire week of the Morgan County Fair so they can show livestock. At least three factories shut down by the time I was in high school. Unemployment rates are high. My dad and stepmom left as soon as they could, but my mom and stepdad still live there, with my stepdad commuting 90 minutes each way to Columbus.

It's not a bad place, but for a progressive 16-year-old vegetarian, I didn't find much to like in a town where deer hunting was a legitimate reason for skipping class. In the last couple of years, the town has taken some steps toward modernity: there's a Chinese restaurant (my mother called me in Korea to tell me about it), a yoga studio (Sarah teaches there; it just opened) and a health-food store, Jo-Ad Natural Marketplace.

A couple of years ago, Central Market, one of the three grocers in town, closed down. Rumor had it that a Pick and Save was being brought to town, but that never happened. Run by the Allen family for three generations, it was the nicest grocery store of the three: An IGA was the biggest and boasted a large bakery (sheet cakes and the like. No baguettes or anything good), and Kroger was not much bigger than my apartment, and pretty run-down. Central Market was on the town square and hired the cool kids to work there.
After Central Market shut down, the Mennonites moved their natural food store from way out in the middle of nowhere to downtown McConnelsville. In all those years, I'd never visited Jo-Ad's.
All that changed this weekend, and wow, was I missing out. In 1997, silken tofu in an aseptic package was the only variety to be found in any of the grocery stores. Avocados were a rarity, and specialty foods like soy burgers -- yeah, right!
This weekend, I found soy products of every kind (way too late as I don't really eat those anymore), kombucha, organic grains and aisle after aisle of herbal supplements!
I filled up my Get Hip Go Green bag with organic goodies and spent... $20 and some change!! So cheap! Over two pounds of thick-cut oats were just $2.50! Two pounds of organic black beans were $3.40 or so. Wow! I told my mother that I might come home more often now that I know I can get decent food there!
I remember getting vegetarian cookbooks from the library and not being able to find half the ingredients needed. Oh, this place would have been a godsend 10 years ago. Better late than never, and being able to find firm tofu, sesame seeds, good rice, ginger and a few other ingredients meant that my family got a tasty, homemade Korean feast!

What I'm reading: "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle

2008-01-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

Marion Nestle has a way of cutting through the fat of nutrition and food science claims. She directly and neutrally explains and analyzes the history, context and importance of health topics before giving her opinion. In "What to Eat," she takes an aisle by aisle look at the supermarket. I've read until chapter 13 and taken notes. Here's a summary of what seemed important to me:

PRODUCE

Prewashed vegetables and fruits are clean when they are packaged. Public water in America is chlorinated, which kills most microbes that could contaminate the veggies. However, wash that lettuce: Have you ever taken a look at those misters? Algae, mold and other contaminants!
Fruit waxes and veggie waxes aren't worth stressing about. Buy unwaxed if you want to eat the peel. Otherwise just peel it. You'll be fine.
Nearly half of the typical family's food budget is spent on food made and consumed outside the home by people who have no interest in health or nutrition.
She frequently points out that farming is a business, which means that farmers in general aren't worried about your health. They're worried about making a profit!
Because organic farmers grow crops using manure, they have stricter rules about microbes and contamination. Conventional farmers don't face such rules.
If organic foods are grown in better soils, they are perhaps higher in minerals, but their vitamin and phytochemical content is pretty much the same as conventional. The differences result from genetic strains or treatment after harvest.
Eat organic because you want fewer pesticides in your body. Eat local because you want to reduce the energy expended to bring your food to your plate.
GM foods' PLU codes begin with an 8, but how often do you seen them? Growers don't have to label such foods! It's a big mystery!
It seems that those who eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day have half the cancer risk of those who eat just two (half-cup) servings of vegetables and fruit.
In the late 90s, the USDA calculated that it cost just 64 cents for five servings of fruits and vegetables (f/v from now on because I'm tired!). That's because there are plenty of half-cup servings in a pound. (Ex: 1 lb green beans minus the inedible parts = 9 servings!)
$36 billion in spent on food and beverage marketing a year. Just a few million is spent on produce marketing; tens or hundreds of millions can be spent on a single drink, cereal or candy bar.
18 cents of food dollars go to the grower; the rest goes to store, truckers, packagers, promoters, etc.

MILK

There are two sets of issues regarding milk: the effects of its compounds on health; the effects of production on the cows.
Since 1970, dairy farms have decreased from 650,000 to 90,000. Cows have been reduced from 12 million to 9 million. However, each cow's yearly production has increased from 9,700 pounds to 19,000 pounds.
in 2003, 22 % of cows were injected with rbST (recombinant bovine somatotropin, a growth hormone)
Nestle says milk's health risks -- and benefits -- are small.
Yogurt: "Yogurt, it seems, has performed a marketing miracle; it is a fast-selling dairy dessert with the aura of a health food."
Ew: 55% of calories in Go-GURT and 67% of calories in Danimals Drinkable are from sugar!!!
Stonyfield Organic is 85 % owned by Groupe Danone.
Margarine is soybean oil and additives. It has few health benefits. She calls it "nutritionally confusing."
Margarine is dyed to look like butter.
Food claims are silly: Margarine has no cholesterol. Duh. Only animal products have cholesterol!
Liquid sweeteners are disgusting (my opinion here). Ever read the back of that CoffeeMate bottle? Yeah, corn syrup solids and chemicals. Yuck! My family is fond of those liquid creamers, and so is Fred. I dislike them. Nestle is honest about them: They're sweet, liquid margarines.
When such sweeteners are fat free, it's because some milk solids have been introduced. Low carb means the sugars have been replaced with artificial sweeteners.
Soy foods are usually pretty heavily processed, and soy manufacturers play both sides of the field: They lobby for higher subsidies and move production overseas.

I'm also currently reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food." However, I own that, and Nestle's book is from the library so I'm reading it first.

I'm eating cage-free organic eggs at my mom's for $1.50 a dozen -- half of what I spend at home. Her neighbor has a chicken. One of the (few) benefits of being at home.

I wasn't planning to blog about this tonight, but it's on my mind so I will. THIS HAS BEEN EDITED, per my mother's request.

My teenage sister refuses to eat much more than refined carbs, dairy and meat. The only borderline vegetables she'll eat are potatoes (really a carbohydrate) and corn (more of a grain). My sister -- despite good examples, healthful meals cooked for her (like the Korean feast I'll blog about later) and plenty of talks from her sisters -- refuses to eat anything new.

Pollan's advice, like that of so many other sage nutritionists and experts, is simple: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

And yet, so many people refuse to eat plants!

She practically lives on grilled cheese sandwiches and pasta with cheese. No matter what we do, she won't try even a bite of any vegetable. I'm frustrated and upset by it, but I'm not sure what to do, if anything. I know that no one can make someone take control of his or her life, and she is just 14.

My passion is life, my calling, is to enlighten people about eating better. I've tried with my sister, but I just get so angry. Watching her, I just feel so sad.

If she were my child, (there are so many "ifs" in this situation), I would make her eat vegetables. No vegetables? Fine, then no refined carbs or full-fat dairy, either.

I needed to vent. I feel quite powerless, and I hate seeing her so unhappy with her body. I love my sister, and I just wish I could make her realize how important good nutrition is. I realize that many Americans are trapped by poverty and believe they cannot afford to eat fresh produce. However, she is educated enough and from a family who is comfortable enough to afford fresh produce and healthful foods.

Am I being unreasonable by trying to get her to eat vegetables?

At home for the weekend

2008-01-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

I left my camera cord at home, so no photos until tomorrow.
My sister Rachael and I didn't make it home for Christmas (among the joys of retail reporting are day-after-Christmas shopping stories) so we celebrated Friday night. My mom and stepdad were quite generous: a stand mixer, a Cuisinart food processor and a Cuisinart immersion blender, plus some other goodies. Pair that with my dad and stepmom's fancy new knife sets and you've got one happy cook. I also have two new aprons -- I'm wearing the one my mom made me right now -- and some kitchen rugs, along with some green dish rags.
It has been a weekend full of board games, yoga classes at the new studio where Sarah teaches and, but of course, food. I'm making a Korean feast for my family, who somehow has never tasted Korean food. I opened the jar of kimchi Friday night, and the smell was less than appreciated. I think that bulgogi (for them), mapo tofu (for me and others), sesame cucumber salad, veggie pancake and kimchi soup will be appreciated a bit more. Raw kimchi is a bit hard to stomach for many people. I certainly took a few weeks to get used to eating it daily.
We've just finished pancakes -- my mother's are perfectly fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, always glossy and perfectly golden brown. While others had syrup, I stuck with my resolution: no HFCS-based breakfast "maple" product. Instead, I used leftover cranberry-orange relish on my pancakes.
My mother has never and probably will never own a dishwasher. What for? my stepdad says. We can do the dishes just fine. However, it becomes a tedious chore that's divvied up among the children all weekend. I fell asleep while we watched a movie last night and forgot to do my load. I did them this morning, which annoyed my stepdad, whose a bit anal about a clean house. (Ha! My sister just started doing them! I'm free.)
Yesterday we went to a fabulous health foods store, which I'll post about tomorrow. Photos are necesaary. I was AMAZED at Jo-Ad Natural Food Store.
A demain...

just my luck

2008-01-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

My camera is at Fred's; we're staying at my place tonight. So no picture of the spicy and flavorful -- and unbelievably simple -- Tunisian Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Lentils (modified from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven.)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup lentils, rinsed (I soaked them with the spices this morning because I realized I didn't have tomatoes and couldn't cook the soup!)

1 28-ounce can tomatoes (crushed or diced)

1 green onion, chopped (recipe calls for 4 cups minced onion. Again, I was out of this! My pantry is empty until Tuesday!)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste, plus a few healthy shakes of red pepper flakes

handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil

Heat oil over medium heat and add garlic and onion. Cook two minutes, then add the lentils (which have had been soaking with the spices). Add water to cover, then add tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with cilantro.
My recipes are mostly for my memory, but feel free to point out whether I've missed a step or overlooked something.

Tonight we also had some oat bran-whole wheat biscuits with feta cheese and raisins. Not too bad. Fred liked them -- I rarely make any carb except cooked whole grains, so he was very impressed with the biscuits. They weren't bad, and I added flaxseed to bump up the fiber even more!

today

2008-01-06T13:01:00.000-05:00

Fred rose early for a trip to Springfield with Jon, so I headed home via Pike Street, and Pike Street Press. A soy cappuccino to go, with one of Jean-Francois Flechet's fabulous Liège waffles. Healthful? Not one bit. But worth every bite.
Today's dinner, I think, is going to be a Tunisian chickpea and lentil soup from a vegetarian cookbook that I got from Mary a few months ago. It's the perfect recipe for those Dark Days of Winter, but I just realized that my pantry is almost pitch black: I have no canned tomatoes! How can this be?! I'm going to walk to the Kroger on Madison later today and pick up a couple of cans. They do carry organic canned goods, even if the organic produce selection ends with baby carrots and baby spinach.
It's time for a trip to Trader Joe's to restock the pantry.
Back to the recipe. I'll post again after I actually make it. The recipe calls for turmeric, cinnamon and cumin -- a perfectly warm and spicy combo for a gray afternoon.
I've also made up a batch of roasted red pepper hummus, which I've been using in place of cheese on quesadillas and sandwiches and as a fabulous dipper for air-popped popcorn. I also love it in omelets, with carrots and in place of dips at parties. Plain hummus is divine, but the red peppers add endless flavor and nutrition. Peppers have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit by weight, along with Vitamin A (with carotenoids lycopene and beta-carotene).
Here's a recipe for quick and easy roasted red pepper hummus:
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, plus their juices (40 calories; 3 g fiber)
1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed (286 calories; 3 grams fat; 10.6 g fiber)
2 cloves garlic, peeled (10 calories)
3 T olive oil (360 calories; 41 g fat)
salt and red pepper flakes to taste
(696 calories/87 calories per serving; 1.7 g fiber; 5.5 g fat)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix until well-blended. Season to taste. I love to eat this with air-popped popcorn.
Red peppers -- during summer -- are on my top 10 list. I didn't plan ahead as well as I should have last year. Next year, I'll freeze peppers and can tomatoes. I've got one container of sauce made with green zebras in the freezer. With whole-wheat pasta and a handful of spinach it will make a fast and delicious meal on a cold night.

two postings, one day

2008-01-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

I like Kelly's post about In Defense of Food. I'm reading the same book, but her blog posting says it all. She also suggested that I set a fitness goal. I've been thinking about that for a while, and I think that was the motivation I needed to set one. I've had another fitness goal for a few weeks: to do an unassisted headstand in yoga. I did one three weeks ago with the help of the teacher against the wall. It was such fun!
My second goal is to run a 5K for the Greater Cincinnati Nutrition Council on March 1.
10 foods I can't live without in 2008
1. pomegranates
2. avocados
3. oatmeal
4. almonds
5. broccoli rabe
6. spinach
7. tofu
8. umeboshi plums
9. organic kefir
10. beans (all of them!)

New year, fresh start

2008-01-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

A nutrition primer to start the year, from the San Francisco Chronicle.
I feel pretty good about my eating lately. I must confess that I ate a chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks yesterday, and I seriously thought I was going to be ill about an hour later. My body was unhappy with the refined sugar overload. 450 calories and 22 grams of fat. And you know that I ate the entire thing!
During the holidays I was much crankier and stressed, and I think it was because of my diet. A slice of cheesecake here, two truffles there, a second serving of cake.
Fred and I have set weight-loss goals: He wants to lose 20 pounds, and I want to lsoe 10 by April 12, our anniversary. (I honestly think I need to lose about 15. I think my scale is off; it says 155 now, but I think it's closer to 160. The goal is 145.)
I'm playing broomball on Mondays (likely will just be sitting the bench and falling down -- not counting on any weight loss there), so I've had to rearrange my yoga schedule. I'm taking $110 of my Christmas money to buy a 10-class yoga card. I go once a week, ideally.
I'm going to put myself on a schedule so it's easier for me to stick to my fitness plan. I'm also putting myself on a budget, so that should prevent us from going out to eat. We're trying to cut back on the spontaneous lunches out and lazy dinners in. We've significantly cut back on the amount of alcohol we drink. We try not to drink just because we can, though this week I had two glasses of white wine at One World Wednesday and two glasses of red at Via Vite.
We're not drinking wine with dinner "just because" and not drinking as much when we go out. I've also set three food goals for the year:

reduce and ultimately eliminate all nonorganic dairy from my diet. It's challenging because the Kroger near my house is horrible. There is no organic dairy (aside from perhaps some HFCS-sweetened yogurt and milk, neither of which I consume.)
eliminate all high fructose corn syrup from my diet. No exceptions. If in doubt, I won't eat it. With a name like "high fructose corn syrup," how can it possibly be good for you?
avoid overly processed soy. Often, vegetarians replace one junk food with another. Ex: hamburgers for veggie burgers*, chicken nuggets for the chik'n variety, bacon (I do miss the flavor of bacon from time to time, I'll admit) for soy bacon. I'd rather eat real, whole foods. Soy dairy is easier on my tummy than real dairy, but soy cheese is not very good. I drink soy and other types of milk, but I'm considering switching to unsweetened rice or hemp milk. (*Read the ingredients on the back of your veggie burger. Some of them are chock full of chemicals and nasty additives. Others are full of real vegetables, legumes, etc. I'll still eat the latter.)

I've made some real strides with my diet in the last year. It hasn't been about weight loss, but about kindness for creatures, the environment and my body. I feel better, I haven't been sick as much as I was before, and my skin looks great. Here are som explanations about my diet, because I'm often asked what I eat and don't eat and why.

I struggled with bulimia for about a decade. It was quite serious in high school, and I recovered for a while in college. But recovery in college meant shoving in junk food without thinking about the consequences. I never exercised because when I was anorexic and bulimic, people worried I would overexercise to lose more weight. I've always been a bookworm and never played sports. I realized last night that, aside from more hangovers than were necessary, I haven't vomited in more than six months. That is the longest stretch of recovery since I was 18.
I don't eat meat (chicken, beef, pork, etc.) in any form, even in broth form, and I haven't since April. This summer, when hungover and making breakfast for Fred and me, I ate a bite of breakfast sausage. My body went into shock and an hour later, I was shaking, sweating profusely and vomiting. Bad idea. Vegetarians lose the ability to digest meat, though it will return after eating meat regularly. Needless to say, returning to eating meat is not fun for vegetarians.
I don't eat much dairy. I eat organic low-fat yogurt (never fat-free dairy. Contrary to what you've heard, fat-free dairy is not good for you. Read the ingredients. Or -- better yet -- taste that junk! Fat-free cream cheese has a dry taste that's like eating paste. Fat-free mozzarella doesn't melt and is useless. When I eat dairy, it's to satisfy a craving. Fat-free just won't do. I eat goat cheese, but I try to avoid cow's milk cheese. Again, it's easier on my tummy. I can't really eat ice cream or drink milk, because it kills my stomach.
I don't eat any plain pasta or bread. I am a big fan of Ezekiel sprouted grain bread. Sprouted grains have been soaked, and their outer shell cracked so it's easier to digest. Last night, at the awful run-down Kroger in Covington, I noticed that whole wheat and enriched pasta now take up as much space as the regular pasta. Sales of products containing whole grains are on the rise. And the number of products containing whole grains are rising, too.
I eat fish, but I'm picky about which fish I eat. I won't eat swordfish, sea bass (the Patagonian toothfish, as it was known pre-PR campaign), tuna (OK, I sometimes eat tuna) and others. I check this list quite often, and think before I buy. Because I don't eat fish very often, I can afford to buy better fish when I do. I love mackerel, both fresh and canned, along with sardines and anchovies. They're salty and rich and add a lot of flavor. They're quite good for you. Some day, I'd love to be able to become vegan, but I'm not at that point in my life yet. I'm not sure I ever will be, and that's OK.
My taste buds have changed. I used to crave junk food as much as the next person, but I can't stomach overly processed foods these days. I eat a pretty high fiber diet, and processed food is really hard on your body. It just sticks to your intestines and stays there. It's gross, I know, but you should really pay attention to fiber intake.

I'm very fortunate to be in a financial situation that allows me to choose organic produce, bread that doesn't contain HFCS and whole grains. I mentor a preteen whose family is on public assistance. To her, and so many other Americans, eating right is just too expensive. The good news is that WIC now offers vouchers for healthier foods and has reduced the allocations for full-fat dairy and fruit juice. There is also, I have just learned, a farmers market program for WIC recipients.
When my brother and sister were young, even when my mom was married, she didn't make much money. Certainly not enough to raise four children -- two preteens and two infants. She was on public assistance when I was in junior high and high school, to supplement the income she earned as a secretary, then briefly as a police officer, then as a waitress and bartender. We ate a fairly healthy diet, but it was quite heavy on dairy, mostly because of the vouchers for cheese. I'm grateful for my family that we had that assistance, though I lived with my father during most of that time and was quite ashamed of the help my mother needed.
So many people just don't see the need for vegetables and fruits. I'm guessing these are the same people you encounter during the day who are cranky and irritable. You are what you eat.
(Is anyone still reading? This is quite a tome!)
My goal is to enroll in nutrition classes by next year and become a registered dietitian. Ideally, I'd earn a master's in nutrition, but that will take years because of the prerequisites that I need to complete. But this is my life's passion. I see myself as a missionary for health and nutrition. Even turning one person on to one new healthy food is a small success.

soon dubu jjigae

2007-12-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

Korea was a country of extremes, sweet and sour, hot and cold, welcoming and isolating. In a strange land, I formed a life of routines punctuated by adventures. Before school, I walked to Kimbap Chungkuk (heaven) -- the one three doors down, not the one across the street or the one around the corner. Kimbap Chungkuks and Kimbap Nahrah (country) are the Korean equivalent of Starbucks. Some day a Kimbap Chungkuk will open in the lobby of a Kimbap Chungkuk.
The restaurant was always the perfect temperature, either warm and toasty with steamed-up windows in the dreary Seoul winter or adequately cooled by the air-con in the summer that left me dripping with sweat as I waited in the chair beside the door that was always in the way.
The waitress with the French ponytail, wearing a polo shirt and shuffling around in her knock-off sports sandals, always smiled at the other ajumas and then waited for me to order: "Soon dubu baek bahn, po jang-hae chusaeyo?" I'd say. "Nae, nae." It was the same meal every day.
Soft tofu stew, to go.
The counter blocked my view of the women who'd make the food, but I saw the ajuna as she packed it up. Kimchi and pickled yellow radish slices in one divided tray, then three side dishes in another. My favorites were the dried radish or squid, the sweet glazed potatoes, the sesame-flavored spinach. The best: Squares of cold omelet with bits of vegetables. The worst: Spam slices with a strange sauce.
All that, plus a bowl of bean paste broth, cloudy and salty, for 3500 won. And always the exact amount of rice, perfectly steamed and slightly sweet.
Wrapped in double layers of plastic, the pungent red broth stained the oversized foam bowl.
Still steaming no matter how cold the walk back to school, no matter how long I had to wait.
The spicy red broth was dotted with chili flakes, a handful of clams, some carrot slivers and green onions. A lump of soft tofu and my favorite: the egg that poached in the broth.
Spoon after spoon, the broth, sometimes a clam -- if it wasn't still closed -- tofu coated in the red chili oil. Dipping spoonfuls of rice into the broth, and finally, the creamy poached yolk.
Creamy, rich, spicy, hot, delicious. The perfect lunch.
Tonight, at Riverside in Covington, I had a soft tofu stew that rivaled the ajuma's.

broccoli is delicious

2007-11-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

I had a terrible weekend. From Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, I didn't cook a single meal. Not since Korea or vacation have I had such a run like that. And I wasn't exactly making smart meal choices. I was a bit depressed and incredibly stressed, which tends to break my willpower.
I had: eggplant parmesan at Bella Luna, extra spicy drunken noodles at Rise and Shine, a calzone from Portofino, (oh, the shame and embarassment) a Taco Bell seven-layer burrito (it is vegetarian, but still!!!), pizza from Dewey's and a Buddha bowl from Shanghai Mama's! Huh?
I've been redeeming myself since then. Pumpkin soup and kimchi fried rice (a bit of a misnomer, considering there's only 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in the entire dish), pomegranates, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas and fibery dumplings, and now... broccoli with salmon salad.
What a great idea! Instead of lettuce or another green with chicken, tuna or salmon salad, why not broccoli? It's SO full of fiber and nutrients.
No guilt when you eat an entire broccoli crown.
Instead of mayo or other fatty dressings, I used a yogurt and vinaigrette dressing.
1/4 c low-fat yogurt (35 calories; 1 g fat)
1/2 t Dijon mustard (free)
2 t red wine or cider vinegar (free)
1 t dried tarragon (free)
1/2 t dried thyme (or 1 sprig fresh thyme) (free)
1 t flax seed (adds crunch and Omega-3 fatty acids!) (17 calories; 1 g fat)
Mix ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix in one can tuna or salmon. (Trader Joe's cans wild Alaskan salmon -- 60 calories and .5 g fat per serving)
Per serving: less than 80 calories ... about a gram of fat... but if you eat the whole dish, it's still only 232 calories or so. Add a cup of steamed broccoli (30 calories total and NO FAT!)
Another favorite new snack: apple slices (1 large apple=100 calories) dipped in 2T hummus (50 calories; 2 grams of fat).

just another Sunday...

2007-11-11T21:29:00.000-05:00

Myra's Thai Pumpkin Soup, kimchi fried rice, pumpkin pies... details to come... I'm tired after all that cooking and baking.
And to think, it all started with just one pumpkin!

Mushroom loaf with stuffing

2007-11-04T21:07:00.000-05:00

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is stuffing. My mom always makes an extra batch just for me. It will be easy to make vegetarian: swap vegetable broth for chicken broth. Ta-da!
I also use whole-grain bread instead! (yay, fiber!)
But the definition implies that stuffing is only part of the story. What good is stuffing without a stuffee?
Exactly.
Round up:
4 portobello caps (100+/-; no g fat!)
3 slices of whole-grain bread, toasted (240; 3)
1/4 c onion (20; 0)
1/4 c celery (20; 0)
3 cloves garlic, chopped (12; 0)
1 T olive oil (120; 13.5)
2 handfuls of herbs, chopped (sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley) (almost no calories, no fat)
1/2 c vegetable broth (10; 0)
total: (522; 16.5)

Remove stems from portobello caps and chop them. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Then add vegetables and garlic. Cook until golden brown, about five minutes. Add herbs and cook another minutes. Add vegetable broth and scrape bottom often. Chop toasted bread and mix into the veggies and broth. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and put two portobello caps in the bottom. Cover with the stuffing and top with the final two mushrooms. Bake 30 minutes.

Slice and serve with gravy.

gravy:
2 T wheat flour (25 calories; .5)
1 c vegetable broth (20)
3 cloves garlic (12)
1/4 c onion (20)
1/4 c celery (20)
2 T olive oil (240; 27)

1/4 c soymilk (20; 1)

handful chopped herbs (same as above: parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary)
total: (357; 278.5)
Heat olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic and vegetables. Saute for about five minutes, add herbs, then the flour and cook another two minutes. Add vegetable broth and soymilk and let cook until it reaches the desired consistency (about 5-7 minutes). Correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve over mushroom loaf!

Makes 2-4 servings! (2=430 calories; 22.5 grams of fat)
(4=220 calories; 11.5 grams of fat)

traditional turkey and gravy with stuffing:
200 calories for 1/2 cup stuffing
300 calories for 1/3 cup gravy
225 for 3 ounces of white and dark meat turkey

Thanksgiving!

2007-11-04T20:57:00.000-05:00

Notice how I don't post for a couple of weeks, then I write a half-dozen postings at once? Yeah, me, too.
Thanksgiving is coming soon, and for a newly converted vegetarian, I'm a little sad. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, but what will I do without turkey, stuffing, gravy and all the fixings!?
Thanksgiving at my mom's usually comprises:
turkey and gravy
mashed potatoes
corn
deviled eggs
broccoli
my sister Rachael's cranberry-orange relish
Gramma Penelope's bacon salad
Gramma Penelope's yeast rolls
and so on...
Well, it looks like my new Thanksgiving meal will be a few items short. I'm missing a main dish.
I'm not a woman who gives up easily.
So over the next few weeks, I'll be working on replicating those dishes. I've already made a pretty yummy turkey replacement.
Fred approved!

healthier quiche

2007-11-04T20:41:00.000-05:00

I heart kale. Seriously, it's an *amazing food. The USDA ranks it No. 1 in antioxidants, and it has phytochemicals that help prevent cancer.
It has calcium, iron, Vits. A, K and C, beta-carotene, lutein, etc. It kicks broccoli's and spinach's asses.
And in 2 cups there is 3 grams of fiber (yay, fiber! that's 10% of your RDA) and only 70 calories.
I made a quiche with kale instead of spinach one night recently. And I omitted the crust (I sprinkled some oatbran on the bottom of the pan instead.), making it even healthier!
Here's the recipe, with -- per Katie's request, the calories etc. Congrats on the reaching the halfway mark!
3 eggs (210 calories; 12 g fat)
1/4 soymilk (30; 1)
1 slice pepper jack or cheddar cheese (80; 6)
1 T oat bran (25; .5)
2 c kale (70; 0)
(total: 415; 19.5)
season with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, etc. (0 calories!)

Chop kale. Steam kale in a pot with 1/4 c water. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain kale and mix with other ingredients. Bake at 350 until the top is golden brown.
(*p.s. Most of my nutrition info comes from "The 150 Healthiest Foods in the World.") Read up on it.

my second favorite breakfast lately!

2007-11-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

In the summer, I ate oat bran and a sprinkling of flax seeds over plain, low-fat yogurt* and fresh or frozen berries.
I was addicted to berries, but I seem to have overloaded. That's actually beneficial because berries are out of season. I'm trying to stick to seasonal food for the most part. Sigh. I miss my green zebras!
Now, I'm into oatmeal. Warm, filling, stick-to-your-ribs oatmeal. And not that sissy, overly sweet, chalky, runny crap that an old man in a hat tries to pass off as oatmeal. Nope, I cook thick oats on the stove with a 50-50 mix of soymilk and water. No sugar, sometimes a drizzle of local honey or real maple syrup. Usually a handful of dried blueberries or other dried fruit.
On days when I'm running late, or when I need a late-night snack, I eat cereal. For months, a year even, I have sung the praises of Trader Joe's Soy and Flax Clusters. They're still fabulous, but now I'm into something retro, something I remember from my childhood.
(And, turns out that even then I somehow knew that dietary fiber was important. Fiber, people! Get your 25 grams daily! At least.) Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran was my No. 1 favorite cereal as a kid, no lie. (90 calories in 3/4 c; 5 g fiber!!! What kind of a kid loves Corn Bran? Me, that's who!)
Ever notice how long it takes me to get to the point. Well, the point is here:
I also loved Cinnamon Life as a kid. And Wheat Chex, the best of the three Chex. (Check the nutritional info. It's true!!)
Now I mix the two, because I feel somehow less devious by doing so.
Seriously, a not so bad-for-you treat. Either or both.
* Many nutrients need some fat to be absorbed into the body. That's why low-fat dairy is better than fat-free. Also, I hate the dry mouth feel of fat-free dairy.

can you believe it?

2007-11-04T20:12:00.001-05:00

Check out those carrots. Wow-za!

The only reason I want to ever settle down and have a house is to have a vegetable garden where I can grow purple carrots, green tomatoes, blue potatoes and pink beans! Yes, there are yellow carrots. And they are organic. And they cost the same as the orange carrots did. They only had the "baby" version (actually whittled down big carrots), but I would eat them in any incarnation. They taste a little less intense than orange carrots, but they are delicious.

What's the difference between orange carrots and the others?

Red carrots derive their color mainly from lycopene [same pigment found in tomatoes], a type of carotene
believed to guard against heart disease and some cancers. Yellow carrots
accumulate xanthophylls, pigments similar to beta-carotene that support good eye
health. Purple carrots possess an entirely different class of
pigments—anthocyanins—which act as powerful antioxidants.

OK, ok

2007-10-25T18:46:00.000-04:00

an explanation:
nope, not creme brulee. But close: easiest custard ever.
Cut off tops of tiny pumpkins, scoop out seeds and reserve tops. Sprinkle insides with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
Mix one egg (or an egg white), one cup of vanilla soymilk, one tablespoon of brown sugar and a shake or two of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
Pour into pumpkins and bake at 350 degrees until set, about 10 minutes.
Scoop out the pumpkin flesh with the custard when you serve it. And serve with the tops on!
I'll bet you're wondering why I have so many tiny pumpkins chez moi. Easy answer: I took them from a food and clothing drive. I robbed the needy of food, you say? No, not exactly. We gave pumpkins to people who donated and had dozens left over. Everyone else planned to set them out as decoration, but in my world, a jack-o-lantern or a tablescape (http://www.yelp.com/topic/new-york-think-you-hate-sandra-lee-let-s-make-it-interesting) is a waste of a good pumpkin. You're out of your gourd if you think I won't cook up those little pumpkins!
Tonight I'm going to make mini quiches inside pumpkins. If you're lucky (If I remember), I'll post it!

explanation to come

2007-10-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

veggie lasagna

2007-10-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

Healthier lasagna: substitute ricotta for sliced soft tofu (left, bottom)

I don't use meat, so I add sliced zucchini, steamed kale, red pepper, onion and mushrooms.

You caught me: I used jarred sauce!

I used only two layers of noodles with all those veggies! Yum!

Watch me!

2007-10-22T21:23:00.000-04:00

Tarte tatin, take deux!

2007-10-22T20:07:00.000-04:00

Remember that time I tried to make an authentic tarte tatin in my cast-iron skillet and the whole thing just sort of fell apart? I do. It didn't look very pretty.

When I get bored, I cook. I don't sit still well, so I cook to pass time when I'm at my parents' house. My grandparents were in town, and I knew we were having family dinner. I wanted to make something special, and I'd bought WAY too many apples at Findlay Market the day before.

Thus, tarte tatin, take deux!

Ingredients:

four apples

brown sugar

cinnamon

pumpkin pie spice

pie crust (yes, I used a store-bought one)

butter. Not margarine, not olive oil, not soy butter. BUTTER.

Preheat oven to 400. Grease the bottom of a glass pie plate with butter. Place about a tablespoon of butter in small chunks throughout the bottom. Sprinkle about 2 T brown sugar in the pie pan. Meanwhile, peel, core and thinly slice the apples and put them in a bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to keep them from browning. Arrange them in a circular pattern in the bottom. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of sugar, then bake for 10-15 minutes, until apples are soft and sugar is bubbling.

Roll out the pie crust and spread over the apples. Press down against the apples, then trim the excess. Brush with milk if desired, then bake for 10 minutes, until crust is cooked through.

To serve: And here's the big ta-da!

Get a plate ready and carefully place it upside down on top of the tart. Wearing oven mitts, carefully flip the pie pan on top of the plate. The apples should fall beautifully from the pan, revealing a gorgeous caramelized bottom.

Slice and serve with ice cream.

There will be no leftovers. I made two.

Six months, and still so happy!

2007-10-22T19:49:00.000-04:00

For our six-month anniversary, Fred and I stayed in and dined on mussels, double-cream Camembert and a baguette, washed down with white wine. Perfection! Here's an estimation of the calories, etc. Leave out the butter for a much healthier meal!

Mussels are SO easy to prepare, and they're so delicious. Make sure you keep them cold (preferably on ice) when you get them home. Then give them a good scrub and remove the barb (the stringy part that might be sticking out). Do this just before you cook them because this will kill the mussel. (Yes, they're still alive.) Discard any cracked or damaged/open shells.

In your largest pasta pot, saute 1/2 white onion, chopped or 2 shallots, chopped in 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and a garlic clove, chopped. After two minutes, add a cup of white wine and let it come to a boil. Add the mussels, give them a stir and put on the lid. After abot 30 seconds, give them another stir. Within a minute, the mussels should be open. Drain the juices and put the mussels on a platter. (Throw out any closed mussels; they were dead and not safe to eat.) Strain the pan juices (there could be grit or sand from the mussels) and pour them back into the pot. Add 1 T butter and stir until it melts. Pour the sauce over the mussels and throw a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley over the top. Serve with baguette. Eat with a loved one.

Inspiration, in the form of soup...

2007-10-22T19:05:00.000-04:00

For my dear friend Kristin Demers' last night in Cincinnati, we wanted to try someplace new, special and cheap. Myra's in Clifton fit the bill.
It's in a house across the street from a new development and strip mall in the middle of campus. Myra's is an institution on the UC campus -- it's been there since 1977.
There are myriad vegetarian dishes, plenty of ethnic choices (some of which even I hadn't heard of, like pulao) and tons of soups.
The place is tiny, so Fred and I arrived early and guiltily took over the largest table in the restaurant. After pita and tzatziki and a glass of Chablis, people started drifting in, as did the food. I had the most delicious wheatloaf with mushroom gravy, cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed veggies ... for $6.75.
Everybody ordered at least an appetizer and an entree, plus alcohol, and no one spent more than $15!!!
Myra's menu lists more than a dozen soups, and a board above the doorway lists the ones made fresh that day. Fred and I shared a bowl of the Thai pumpkin, and I also tried the Spinach Coconut....heavenly!
It's a rainy, chilly night, perfect for soup and sandwiches!

2007-09-24T22:01:00.000-04:00

The simplest tomato soup: chop, then use the food mill (left) or a blender to process. If you use a blender, strain the seeds! Simmer, then season to taste. Divine!
(I used golden peach tomatoes)
I went through a phase of tapas-style meals. I'd bought a lot of produce and decided to serve a lot of it at one meal.
I served the soup with some whole-wheat pasta and a parmesan crisp (put small piles of parmesan cheese on baking sheet or in a skillet. Either bake at 350 or fry in a dry skillet until crispy. Like a parmesan cracker.)

Then came a stuffed portobello cap: 1 slice of bread (I use Ezekiel bread), toasted and crumbed (put in food processor or use the trusty stick blender)
1T feta cheese
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only (hold at the bottom and pull leaves off)

salt and pepper to taste
drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 for about 7 minutes. Serve as entree or slice in four for an appetizer. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture until we were almost done.
The second tapas meal blog will have to wait. I'm restless.

Back from extinction

2007-09-24T21:25:00.000-04:00

OK, so I exaggerate. I'm fine. I've just been busy. I'm now a business reporter, which seems to be more mentally taxing on me than copy editing was. I think it's because reporting is something new, and it's something that doesn't come naturally to me. In the mean time, I've been cooking. A few recipes:

Easiest fat-free pasta sauce ever:

Handfuls of basil

few sprigs fresh oregano or two pinches dried

2 green zebra tomatoes (or any tomato, really)

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Stick it in the blender or use an immersion blender (my favorite kitchen tool)

30 seconds later, and TA-DA!!! Pasta sauce. Pour over whole wheat pasta. (Regular pasta -- I'm SO over it!)

Chickpeas rock!

Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, then shake them well to dry. Sprinkle with 1T cumin, a pinch of salt and a few cranks of the pepper mill. Either cook over medium-high heat or roast at 400 degrees until crispy. Drizzle with olive oil if you want. Or not. These are a favorite snack of mine!

Busy

2007-09-09T10:55:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been swamped at work. Next Monday I start a new gig, as retail and restaurant reporter for the The Enquirer. It's my first full-time reporting job. so I'm a bit nervous. However, that beat interests me, and I'm eager for a new, more challenging role.
Now, back to the food.
Went to my beloved Findlay Market yesterday after a couple of weeks away. I had this horrible feeling that I had missed all the good tomatoes, but thankfully I hadn't. I picked up more garden peach and green zebras, along with some orange romas. So they wouldn't be lonely, I got a few baby red bell peppers, two honey crisp apples and a handful of prune plums. (I'm on Fred's computer, and I can't figure out how to link! I'll update this later.)
More to write about:
quinoa tart, my new steamer, fish tacos, black beans and rice, the joys of kimchi.

I'm a star.

2007-08-30T21:43:00.000-04:00

Oh, tomatoes. How I love thee...

2007-08-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

Woke up early on Saturday, had a lazy breakfast with Fred and ended up at Findlay Market. It's my favorite Saturday morning activity. We were a but rushed, unfortunately, but I picked up these beautiful tomatoes. At left are green zebra and garden peach varieties.
Heirloom tomatoes, with all their unconventional beauty, put supermarket hot-house varieties to shame. The memory of a cold, mealy, watery pink beefsteak tomato quickly fades. The grower let me try a garden peach, and I ate it, like a peach. Sweet, with a yellow color and a lovely peach blush that tells you when they're ripe, these are mild and delectable. The skin in slightly fuzzy, too.
The green zebras are quite good, too. I've had them before, and the first time I tried them I was a bit intimidated. They are striped with lime green and goldenrod, juicy, with a pale green interior.
Best part: These are grown without pesticides!
Then I walked to the next booth, where they had these little darlings:

Tiny salad tomatoes in every shape, size and color, including several yellow pear varieties. So sweet, so rich, like nature's candy.
Tonight for dinner, I made a slightly decadent but terribly simple pasta.
1 package fusilli (this kind is whole wheat and flax, from Trader Joe's)
5 tomatoes (garden peach and green zebra)
handful tiny tomatoes
fresh basil, from the growers who sold me the green zebras
olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt, pepper
fresh mozzarella

Cook the pasta. While it's cooking, quarter the large tomatoes. Leave the small ones whole. Chop or tear the basil and cut the cheese. (Stop laughing? Are you 12?)
When the pasta's done, quickly drain it, reserving two tablespoons of pasta water. Immediately toss back into hot pot with basil, tomatoes and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, stir well and put the lid on the pot. Let sit one minute in the pot, then serve. The residual heat warms the tomatoes and softens and starts to melt the cheese.

Oh, so marvelous. Fred and I dined in the living room, silently, to a soundtrack of Madeleine Petroux. It's rare that we don't converse during dinner. But the tomatoes were that good. They required our full attention.
Stop reading this. Go to the nearest farmers market and enjoy the bounty of tomatoes. I've still got about half of them left. Tomorrow night's dinner will be avocado and tomato salad, I think. I've got a ripe alligator pear in there just dying to be used.

Gratuitous veggie pic

2007-08-13T22:13:00.000-04:00

This freakishly large orb is a pattypan squash. It cost $1 at Findlay Market. I was planning to stuff it, but then Kris and Bri dug in to it whilst drinking the other night. Oh, well. It was pretty while it lasted.

Hodgepodge part deux

2007-08-13T21:55:00.000-04:00

More healthful summer veggie-heavy meals:

Roasted portobello mushrooms: a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and cracked black pepper. Bake at 400 for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Zucchini is so fresh and full of water that you don't always need olive oil. I sliced it thinly and sauteed it with basil, oregano, a bit of pepper and a roasted orange pepper that I had made the night before.

I doctored a jar of Trader Joe's No Salt Added Marinara. It was really, really bland, so I added an anchovy to some olive oil along with some garlic. (Don't wrinkle that nose! The anchovy melts into the sauce and adds a rich depth to the sauce.) I also added some red wine that was a few days old. The sauce was finished with some fresh oregano from my pots. Oh, so good!
The finished product!

Hodgepodge of pretty summer produce

2007-08-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

I've been busy trying to eat right. I've made quite a few decadent meals and overindulged a few times.

But it's summer, and that means... produce:

Baby asparagus from bigg's in Hyde Park. Fred picked it up, and I tossed it in spaghetti al limone. No cream, just plenty of lemon juice, fresh tomatoes, parmesan cheese and black pepper.

I rarely eat corn. I don't think it's as nutritionally sound as other vegetables, and I don't really like it. But in the summertime, even I can't resist a good ear or two. It didn't really go with it, but Fred and I these two local ears with the baby asparagus pasta.

Spoiled.

2007-08-13T21:45:00.001-04:00

Life's good when you can walk out your back door and grab a handful of fresh herbs to freshen up your dinner. (That's flat-leaf parsley, oregano and basil, grown by moi.)

Lately, I've been making light pasta dishes for dinner. I'm slightly obsessed with variations on this pasta: whole wheat spaghetti or linguine, with white wine, fresh tomatoes, red pepper flakes, a couple of handfuls of herbs, cracked black pepper and a bit of parmesan cheese or olive oil. It's so light, so delicious, so easy. Add the hot pasta to a pot with the wine, tomatoes and peppers. Cook for about a minute, then toss with the herbs.

Oh, so yummy!

Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

2007-08-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

I went over to Fred's house Sunday night after a long, dull day at work. It was our four-month anniversary. Seriously, this man is amazing.

Out of the blue, he made blueberry cheesecake. (Pardon the pun.) And flowers!

His birthday is tomorrow. We're going to Mecklenberg Gardens. (His birthday, his choice.) I'm pretty darn lucky.

I'm a star

2007-08-03T20:07:00.000-04:00

Check out today's Morning NetCast at Cincinnati.com. I'm in the last segment, about Korean food.

hodgepodge

2007-08-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit tired tonight. It was a rough week, and I was a bit under the weather. I think I'm suffering from food allergies. I'm trying to narrow my diet for a while.

Last night I made kimchi fried rice, which is a great way to use up random leftover veggies and grains/rice. I used sang jaeng mi, a mix of grains and beans. (left)
In a cast-iron skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, I sauteed the veggies (kimchi, onion, grated carrot, chopped lettuce and Swiss chard), tofu cubes and rice, let it crisp a bit and added 2 eggs, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. It's so comforting and delicious. I love fried rice. Our favorite BBQ place in Seoul served fried rice on cast-iron grills. They'd clean the grill after you ate the meat, oil it well and add the veggies: onions, garlic, carrots, kimchi... then the rice, sometimes tuna and lettuce, seaweed (laver) and sesame oil. They'd mound it in the middle, then create a well and add an egg. The egg would coat the rice and veggies, and caramelize the rice on the bottom. With spoons when the time was right, we'd scrape up spoonfuls of the rice, savoring the crispy and creamy bits. Washed down with bamboo soju, ah, a perfect end to a Korean BBQ meal.

Oh, and another picture of my antique store finds: A Depression glass canister that's holding the sang jaeng mi grains. I love the Brass Armadillo!

meme-ing

2007-08-03T19:11:00.000-04:00

Purple Podded Peas tagged me in my first meme.
Seven random facts about me
1. I can do the splits. Anyone who's been to one of my birthday parties knows this.
2. I feel guilty when I don't recycle.
3. I love to eat sushi ginger straight from the jar.
4. Some day Sarah Flesher and I are going to take over the world.
5. I'm slightly obsessed with dietary fiber.
6. I'm 26, and I have a 5-year-old sister.
7. I hate the suburbs. Some day I want to live on a small farm in a great small town, grow vegetables and write all day long.

The rules:Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 other garden blogs and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.
Seven blogs (not all gardening blogs)
Sarah's yoga blog: She inspires me. When she decides to do something, she follows through. Sarah and I have been friends since childhood.
Purple Podded Peas: I love her blog!
Nourish Me: We think alike... love this newfound blog.
Great Big Veg Challenge: Love this blog.
http://luvbyrds.blogspot.com/ A friend and her husband are missionaries in Mozambique. Disagree with their motives, but love their stories and dedication.
http://gdaugherty.blogspot.com/ I work with this woman. She's hilarious!

retro tupperware

2007-07-30T22:29:00.000-04:00

I scored this set for $12 at the Brass Armadillo at Tri-County. Hot, hot, hot!
They now live on top of my fridge, keeping my cookbooks company.

blueberry-zucchini bread experiment

2007-07-30T20:38:00.000-04:00

I picked up this monster of a zucchini at Findlay Market. At a foot long and too big to wrap my hand around, it ended up yielding six(!) cups shredded. It's the right time of year to start baking with zucchini. Mmm, with the leftover zucchini, maybe I'll splurge on some brownies!
I'm altering this recipe...
3 eggs, lightly beaten (2 eggs, 1 tablespoon flax seed plus 2 tablespoons water)
1 cup vegetable oil (2 bananas)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups white sugar (1 cup)
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups white-whole wheat flour, 1 cup oat bran)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries (plus a couple of handfuls of red raspberries)
Bake at 350 until a knife comes out clean.
I know that sugar is necessary when baking. It helps baked goods brown, obviously adds sweetness and is necessary to maintain the proper balance. But 2 1/4 cups?! It negates all the goodness that the zucchini is doing in this recipe. Sigh. I subbed the fat with bananas, mostly because I only have olive and sesame oils right now.

It turned out well. The bananas are nice and sweet but still retain their flavor. The berries held together nicely, as did the zucchini. It's dense but not too dense, moist and chewy! Yum!

party people

2007-07-30T20:18:00.000-04:00

Fred participated in the 48-hour film project a couple of weekends ago, and the screening was on Saturday. We hosted a small wrap party with the cast and our friends. I made a few odds and ends, but I didn't take pictures... chunky guacamole with yellow pepper, red onion, quartered cherry tomatoes, a cilantro pesto, and of course, avocado.

I got some beautiful local cherries and blueberries, along with some figs. I stuffed them with rosemary and goat cheese, then roasted them and drizzled local honey over the top. They were good, but I remembered that I'm not a huge fig fan.

I got some great stringless jade beans that I'm going to serve with roasted garlic and pistachio-crusted salmon. A while back, I made pistachio-crusted salmon for Fred, and he loved it. I made too much of the crust/coating, so I froze half of it. I'm so excited!

Pistachio crust

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup pistachios, crushed

1 slice whole-wheat bread, toasted and crumbled

salt and pepper

Mix together and dredge salmon filets in this, pressing firmly. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Forgive me again, blogger, for the neglect.

2007-07-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit busy. I decided to make a video for "The Next Food Network Star." Fred taped it. It was a lot of fun, but I'm not putting all my cage-free, vegetarian-fed eggs in one basket. It's fun to watch, at least. Like any normal woman, I hate watching myself on camera/seeing myself in pictures. But I think I did a pretty good job. Move over, Rachael Ray! I made Technicolor pasta, which is one of the freshest, most vibrant recipes I've ever created. It's sure to cheer you up and make you feel healthy and full of life.
Technicolor pasta
(This is a variation on the pasta with potential I blogged about earlier in the summer.)
It's a great way to clean out the crisper.
2 leaves Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 yellow, red or orange pepper, chopped
handful black olives, pitted and chopped
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 package whole-wheat penne
salt and pepper
olive oil
Bring pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package, until al dente. Saute garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook about two minutes, then add the chard stems and yellow pepper and cook another two minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano and swiss chard leaves along with two spoonsful of starchy pasta water. Cover and turn up heat for one minute. Remove from heat, mix in pasta, olives and feta. Season with salt and pepper.

Birthday dinner planning

2007-07-15T20:42:00.000-04:00

Fred's mom's birthday is tomorrow, and we're having her over for dinner, along with Fred's sister and her boyfriend.
His mom lived in Italy and Egypt for quite a few years, so I think we're going to do something Mediterranean-inspired.
But today, I stopped by an Indian grocer, so now I feel like I want to make something Indian. Hmm...
I experimented with a green chickpeas hummus this afternoon. Trader Joe's sells frozen green chickpeas, and I had a bag in the freezer. They taste a little more like peas than traditional chickpeas.
I think that tomorrow I'll make baked samosas with hummus inside. Yum!
Now for the rest of the meal... Hmm...

Whole Foods envy

2007-07-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

We have the fabulous Findlay Market here. Unfortunately, I slept really late yesterday and didn't have time to get there. Thankfully, I went to Columbus for the day.

I love my life here in Queen City, but I envy my parents' proximity to Whole Foods. A friend of an ex calls it "Whole Paycheck" because it's a foodie's paradise. I can't get out of there without spending at least $40. I load up on (preferably local and organic) produce, wine and bulk food when I visit my parents.

Today's trip yielded a plethora of goodies. I'm so excited for the upcoming week. I've got a lot of cooking to do!

(Above, left: Ohio-grown tomatoes! Yay!)

Pattypan (front) and crookneck yellow squash from an organic farm in Athens, Ohio.

Swiss chard (yum!) and dinosaur kale (below, right)

Meet my babies...

2007-07-15T20:15:00.001-04:00

Children? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Nope, my babies are little green monsters, packed full of flavor and life...
I'm so proud of them, my little herbs. They are the first plants I've ever raised. They were toddlers when I got them. I haven't yet braved growing anything from seeds.

Chives
Rosemary

Sage

Basil Lemon thyme

Oregano Parsley

I know, I know. I'm like those annoying parents with their endless parade of photos about their beloved little angels. This is the first time I haven't killed plants. Humor me !

A kid at heart

2007-07-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

I love to make messes. I love piles of odd things, gooey messes in the kitchen, quirky craft projects, arts projects that are destined to be left undone. I'm a kid at heart.
Lately I've been pursuing some strange culinary projects: One Saturday night a few weeks ago I made seitan. Yeah, so it took a whole bag of flour and about four hours. Then I simmered it in broth for a couple of hours, and it was a bit too tough. Do as all the smarter-than-I vegetarians and vegans out there do: Buy wheat gluten ready-made!
By the end of the night, Fred's kitchen was covered in starchy flour-water and sticky bits of gluten, and I was left with a pot full of "brains" as Fred and his friend John called it.
My next two projects are a bit less messy.
I bought soybeans at Whole Foods today. (I was in Columbus visiting my dad and seeing a friend, Erin, and her husband, who were in fro England.) Not edamame, but soybeans.
Guess what I'm going to make?
Tofu, yes, eventually. But tofu requires more equipment than I currently have. (molds, mostly)
I'm going to make my own soymilk. I'll soak the soybeans after I finish blogging. In a couple of days, I should have rich, creamy, delicious, fresh, homemade soymilk. Or I could have a giant mess of beany water.

The Dirty Dozen

2007-07-11T21:15:00.000-04:00

According to foodnews.org, these are the dirtiest plants, with the most pesticide residue:

apples
bell peppers
celery
cherries
imported grapes
nectarines (the highest)
peaches
pears
potatoes
raspberries
spinach
strawberries

The "cleanest" produce is:

asparagus (seriously, don't buy asparagus out of season though. It's just not the same as that fresh, green, spring crop!)
avocados
bananas
broccoli
cauliflower
corn
kiwis
mangoes
onions
papayas
pineapple
peas

* From "The Ethical Gourmet"

The Ethical Gourmet

2007-07-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

This book, "The Ethical Gourmet," is one of my favorites right now. It's so chock full of info.

Check out the Web site http://www.certifiedhumane.com/. It's got tons of information on choosing humanely raised livestock and farm care.

70% of all h20 in the U.S. is used for growing feed/livestock.
Dagoba chocolate: Check it out -- organic and fair-trade chocolate.
Note to self: Eat more spelt, oat groats.
Focus on eating 1. organic local 2. local 3. organic 4. ethical methods
The first GM food was the FlavrSavr tomatoes in 1994. (They were later banned because research claimed they caused stomach lesions.)
GM food can cause unintended cross-pollination. Think about the impact it can have on helpful species that come in contact with GM species.
Corporations often own patents on seeds.
We really don't know the consequences of these foods!
Ex: Insect-resistant corn could hurt monarch butterflies.
A farmer in Candad was sued by Monsanto for accidental (wind-blown) cross-pollination.
GM seeds can't be saved. Many have a termination gene.
Breaking up the ground to till weeds is a major cause of soil erosion and greenhouse gases.
Look up: conservation tillage
in the 90s, they invented crops that were resistant to Roundup! 90% of soybeans are "Roundup ready"
www.seedsavers.org

Nutrition notes: Whole Foods Encyclopedia

2007-07-11T20:26:00.000-04:00

So in the three weeks I was without a computer, I had plenty of time to read. I'm typing up my notes (yes, I take notes when I read nutrition books.) so I don't forget things!
I spent the first weekend evening sans ordinateur reading "The Whole Foods Encyclopedia" by Rebecca Wood. It's not about the grocery store.
Rebecca Wood is a macrobiotic and whole foods expert who originally wrote this book as a handbook for health-store workers. This version was a bit old, 1999, but it was brimming with useful information:

She's not a fan of processed soy products, and it really opened my eyes to the inferior products I was using as protein. Soy isolate, for example, is part of TVP. (Texturized vegetable protein) It's made from soybean oil meal. To eliminate the carbs, it's bathed in chemicals!
Soy milk has the same protein as milk, a third of the fat, fewer calories. It's high in B vitamins and has 15 times the iron. But milk has more calcium unless soymilk is fortified.
Tempeh is 19.5% protein; more than 50% more protein than beef! It's high in omega-3s. (Tempeh is an Indonesian food made from split, cooked, fermented soybeans.)
Tofu is a high-quality protein, a good souce of calcium. It's a great source of iron, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.
Toxins accumulate in fatty acids. Therefore, if you're going to buy organic, focus on (in descending order): meat, dairy, oils, nuts, seeds, grains.
Chickpeas are unlike a legume. They're wrinkly, with only one seed and pod. They are higher in vitamin C and iron.
Flax seed rocks! It's less than 40% oil. Flax strengthens immunity, help prevent cancer, clear the heart and arteries. Flax is a superior source of lignan, which helps regulate menstrual cycles. Lignan has anti-cancer, antibacterial, anti-viral and antifungal properties.
3T flax seeds and 1/2 c water=2 eggs
Macrobiotic cure-all: 1 1/2 T kudzu powder; 1 1/2 c H20; 1 t umeboshi powder; 1 t soy sauce; 1/2 t ginger juice. Boil, stirring constantly and simmer until it goes from milky to opaque.
Quinoa is 16% protein. It contains all the amino acids. The UN WHO says it's nutritionally equal or superior to milk. It's at least as good as milk when it comes to protein quality. It has more calcium; is high in lycine, iron, phosphorus, B vitamins and vitamin E. Wash quinoa well to rid it of the bitter covering.
With seeds such as quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat, presoaking and light toasting enhances flavor and digestability.

Back, after an Internet diet

2007-07-07T19:54:00.000-04:00

Finally, my computer is fixed (thanks, Dad!) so I'm back online with renewed energy and a slew of new recipes and favorite ingredients. I awoke early last Saturday and drove to Findlay Market to find something to make for a work barbecue. I planned on getting some feta and tomatoes for a pasta salad, but instead I retirned home with two paper bags bursting with produce and local goods: tomatoes, yes, but also shallots, garlic scapes (see below), massive zucchini, lemons, fennel, local honey and organic eggs, plus a whole-grain multigrain boule from Shadeau Bakery.

I get so excited for breakfast on the weekends. I love big brunches or breakfasts, especially frittatas and omelets. Since I no longer eat meat, a lot of the traditional dishes are out, but it opens up such a world of delicious flavor combinations. Eggs -- always vegetarian, free-range, certified organic for me -- are a great blank slate. They're full of protein and high in omega-3 fatty acids. I sauteed half a large zucchini with garlic and olive oil, then chopped tomato and some red onion. With Fred and a really good cup of strong coffee and the multigrain bread, it made for a perfect weekend morning. The only thing missing was a newspaper.

What I love about omelets is how versatile they are. They're fabulous for breakfast, obviously, but also with salad for lunch or dinner. Just about any vegetable goes well in them.
On Fourth of July, I threw together broccoli kale, rainbow chard, garlic and tomatoes with organic cheddar. Yum! Other favorites are spinach and tomato with feta, potatoes with Dijon mustard and kale.

One Friday night in early June, actually the night that my computer died, Fred and I came home starving and pressed for time. I'd seen a recipe for chickpea pasta -- spaghetti alla ceci -- and played around with it. It turned out to be a really easy, tasty dinner. With white wine, a sprinkling of parmesan and fried garlic, oh, rich and simple!

Pasta alla ceci

1/2 package whole-wheat pasta (cook according to package)

1/2 c white wine

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 t red pepper flakes, to taste

salt and pepper

3 T olive oil

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Heat oil over medium-high heat in large saute pan, then add the garlic and cook until brown and toasted. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

Next, add the chili flakes and chickpeas. Turn heat to high and saute chickpeas for 2 minutes, shaking pan frequently. Add white wine, reduce heat and stir. Mash a few chickpeas to create a sauce.

Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the pasta. Thin with reserved cooking water, if necessary. Sprinkle with parmesan and the fried garlic. The garlic gets sweet and crunchy. And it's only friend in a bit of olive oil, so it's not that bad for you.

I am mentoring a 13-year-old girl through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and last month I taught her how to cook. Well, we made dinner together. It wasn't really a cooking lesson. She was more interested in watching Disney Channel than cooking. Who can blame her? She's 13! She's a meat-eater, so I made this Rachael Ray chicken recipe, modified a bit.

We went to the grocery store and picked out things for dinner. I let her choose which vegetables we ate. She tried for the first time mushrooms and broccoli.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Extra-virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper

1 T dried tarragon (I didn't have any rosemary! Now I grow a pot of it!)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 package button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large shallot, chopped

1 T flour

1/2 cup soymilk
Heat iron skillet over high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then place in skillet. Cook five minutes each side.
In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat then add garlic and shallots. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until browned. Add flour and tarragon and cook one minute. Flour should be browned and coating the mushrooms. Add broth and soymilk and turn up heat to medium-high. Cook until sauce has thickened, about five minutes.

Serve with rice, steamed broccoli and the chicken. I ate mine over a veggie burger; Tabitha had chicken.

Hey, remember me?

2007-07-05T22:31:00.000-04:00

I've been gone, but I haven't forgotten you, dear blog! You see, it wasn't my fault. My computer's hard drive died, and my dad has been nursing it back to health. IN the mean time, without the distraction of Internet, I've been cooking up a storm. (And, unfortunately for my waistline, eating up a storm!) I'm ready to blog all about it now. But tonight, on the painfully slow but greatly appreciated laptop Fred's mom has loaned us, I don't have the patience. So you'll have to wait for one more day.
But until then, I'll leave you with this: rainbow chard, red onion, tomato and portobello caps with fresh oregano and sheep's milk feta over whole-wheat spaghetti. That was our dinner this evening.

I love summer, and vegetables!

2007-06-04T22:32:00.000-04:00

Summer makes me happy, and it makes me want to eat vegetables. Farmers markets are starting, everything's in bloom, and I have one, tiny, green tomato growing from my lone tomato plant. My dill is back from the verge of death, and my parsley is still clinging precariously to life. There is hope for me and my brown thumbs yet.

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," about a year of eating locally. I've been inspired, but how can I ultimately eat locally and grow my own food if I can barely keep one plant alive. Sigh.
For now, I'm paying attention to the origin of my food. Bananas and pineapple are out. Those refrigerated tropicals are the Hummers of the food world, she writes.
Tonight I made a healthful pasta, with produce that was trucked in from all over the world. I'm making efforts, but it's hard. So I'm being patient.
This pasta feels like summer to me, fresh, warm and a jumble of goodness. It's still too early in the season to get these vegetables locally-grown, but that's OK. Baby steps.
Mmm, and to make this pasta a bit decadent, I added a bit of Bulgarian sheep's milk feta that Fred and I bought last weekend at the Mediterranean store at Findlay Market.
Pasta with potential
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/3 green pepper, minced
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 c fresh spinach
handful black olives, chopped
1/4 c feta with brine
red pepper flakes to taste
1 t oregano
black pepper to taste
2 c whole-wheat pasta
Boil water, add pasta. Cook as directed. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic and cook until golden. Add onions and continue to cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add green peppers and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes, cook for a minute and add spinach, oregano and peppers. Cover with a lid, turn off heat and allow spinach to wilt.
When pasta is done, add to pan, along with olives and stir well. Top with feta and more oregano, if desired. I served it with tofu.

Sunday I marinated firm tofu in 1/4 c red wine, 1 T garlic, 1 t oregano, a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper. The tofu came out a rich violet color, which is a strange shade for protein. Tonight I patted it dry and cooked it in a tablespoon of olive oil in my beloved cast-iron skillet. Crisp on the outside, creamy but firm on the inside, with tons of flavor.

Oh, and you'll notice that I was eating with chopsticks. A great diet tactic: Eat with chopsticks. It takes you longer to eat, so you'll eat slower and notice when you feel full.

nobody's perfect

2007-05-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

During the honeymoon phase of a new relationship, it's easy to overindulge. An ice-cream cone here, a pizza there, a romantic dinner, a night at the bar... add birthdays, a vacation and a few parties to the mix, and it's a recipe for disaster. I've gained five pounds, as has Fred. I have been so busy with him, work and volunteering that I haven't really exercised in a month. We've indulged a few too many times... I'm in need of a veggie and grain kick.
Sigh. I bought broccoli, and I've got both quinoa and amaranth in the fridge. I think it'll be a greens and grains week.

sushi, how do i love thee?

2007-05-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

Dear friend Bri introduced me to "the most perfect sushi roll in the world." The superfluous superlatives are merited here. Kyoto sushi bar is a bit far away, but the mango-spicy tuna roll is worth the drive. I used to be a sushi purist, but honestly, if it's delicious, who cares if it's not authentic? The tuna is minced with a spicy sauce and paired with mango, which is perfect with the spiciness. The sweet mango with its superbly rough texture tempers the spice of the tuna. Heaven in a mouthful. For the month of May (hurry, just a few days left), Kyoto is offering happy hour prices -- $3.50 and $4.50 a roll!
I'm introducing Fred to sushi. He claimed to not be a sushi fan, but he has liked everything we've tried!
We're either headed there or to Aqua tomorrow night. I need some sushi, stat!

love those grains

2007-05-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

Did anyone see this New York Times story? New research has found a direct correlation between eating whole grains and reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease. And might I point out these statistics from the American Heart Association:
Do you eat whole grains? I do.
I buy them in bulk at Wild Oats (they’re really quite affordable) and prepackaged at Trader Joe’s.
Here are five grains you might not know about, along with some nutritional facts about each one:
Quinoa: (right) This nutty grain can be cooked like rice, with a 1:2 ratio of grain to water. Cook for 15-18 minutes. It fluffs up when cooked, making it an ideal substitute for couscous or even rice! It has all the amino acids that humans need, which is rare for a grain. (It contains lysine, which many grains lack.) It is also a good source of fiber, iron, magnesium and phosphorus.

Nutrition info

Amaranth: This grain looks a lot like quinoa, but it is golden in color and smaller. The protein content is remarkable and, like quinoa, it has a good balance of amino acids. The fiber content is high, along with its amount of Vitamin E. Be careful not to overcook it, as it can become gummy. Use the
same 1:2 ratio, but cook only about 10 minutes.

Nutrition info

Barley: (right) Other than barley soup, does anyone eat barley anymore? I think it took a bad rap back in the 70s and 80s. It takes a long time to cook, but it's high in fiber and iron! It's so nutty and delicious. Nutrition info

Buckwheat: Remember buckwheat pancakes? It's delicious, nutty and hearty. The grains, also called kasha, is full of magnesium, copper and fiber. It cooks (standard 1:2 ratio) in about 15 minutes. In Asian food stores, you can easily find buckwheat noodles, which are quite flavorful and great in spicy or strong sauces. Ever had the cold Japanese noodles served on bamboo mats? Here's a recipe (scroll all the way down). They're SO delicious! Buckwheat is high in protein, Vitamin B and other nutrients. Allegedly, buckwheat strengthens capillary walls.

Nutrition info

Oats: Forget those little, sugar-laced packets with a white-haired man on them. Real oats are great for your heart, and they're a great source of fiber. They have been proven to reduce cholesterol (so have other grains). They're a great way to reduce the amount of ground meat used in a recipe, of course they're delicious as cereal and they are excellent in baking. Nutrition info

still here

2007-05-26T16:47:00.000-04:00

I'm still alive, but I've been tres tres busy this month. I have a ton to blog about, but no time! I'm off till Wednesday morning, so I'm sure I'll find some time. I'm throwing a birthday party tonight... in the middle of cooking! Yay!

I'm back.. musings on France

2007-05-14T22:06:00.000-04:00

Life's been a bit hectic for the last month. I was on vacation in Europe for two weeks, and for the last two weeks, I've been cooking like crazy... for my new boyfriend, Fred.
When I am single, my cooking style tends to be a bit more sparse. Little to no cheese, more grains, less fish, simpler meals, fewer side dishes. But to me, cooking is a form of creativity, of expression. So lately, I've felt inspired. By Fred, yes, but by Europe, my friends, my life.
I spent a week in France eating as a I pleased, meat included. My sister and I made a pact: Each night a great meal, wine included, with no repeats. We broke that rule once, for a second meal at the cafe Le Vrai Paris on Rue des Abbesses. The first night we went there two lesbians interrupted our dinner then paid for it. (At 70 euros, we were happy to let them!) We returned our last night because we couldn't decide where else to go, and we wanted to stay in our neighborhood.
Because the vegetarian options are sparse in French bistros and cafes, I ate meat. I wasn't really happy with the decision, but the food was delicious. I took comfort in the fact that the French care so much about what they eat. It's not just duck on the menu, it's magret au col vert.
I ate so many delicious meals:
salmon in a rich cream sauce with spinach and shallots
coq au vin
paupiettes de pecheur au provencale (thin filets of fish filled with a cheese and vegetable mixture, rolled up and served with tomato sauce)
sliced, sauteed potatoes that were so rich and sweet they had to have been cooked in duck or goose fat
perfectly creamy scalloped potatoes
a croque madame
countless crepes filled with Nutella (well, I snagged bites of Rach's)
risotto with poultry (I thought it was vegetarian, then remembered "volaille" means poultry)
duck breast seared but still practically bleeding on the inside (surprisingly delicious), with roasted chestnuts and a rich red wine sauce
After a week in Paris, I was craving vegetables and grains and yes, tofu. But there was none to be had for a few more days, for I was off to Tours, where my French "grandmother" lives.
Colette Vavasseur is one of the kindest people I know. I was randomly assigned to live with her when I studied abroad six years ago. A naive 19-year-old who'd never been overseas, I learned so much sitting around her dinner table each night. Between 7:50 and 8:00 each night, she'd open the door at the bottom of the stairs and yell up to my camarade de chambre (roommate) and me, "A la table, les filles." "Oui," we'd respond, and be down the stairs within one minute flat.
Kosuke, the 13-year-old Japanese boy attending boarding school in Tours, would usually have beaten us to the table. As Patrick Poivre d'Arvor began reading the news (or Claire Chazal with her decolletage exposed and her annoying forward leaning posture on weekends) and we'd begin eating, sometimes with an aperatif but usually just with an entree.
Often a quiche, a seafood salad, stuffed avocados, sometimes beets, carottes rapees, concombres a la creme (cucumbers with creme fraiche), often a potage, sometimes pate, rillettes (which are a specialty of Tours) or even, once, foie gras.

Usually wine, often a rose from Bordeaux, or a white from the Touraine region. I didn't know whether it was good or bad, but I liked it.
After one helping, plus a no-thank you second helping, came clean plates and le plat principal, usually meat of some kind.
Often fish or chicken, sometimes roasted pork, rarely beef. At that time, mad cow fears were rampant, and beef prices were high. Some chickenlike meat made a frequent appearance, and it took me about six weeks to figure out that it was rabbit, the same rabbits that Colette kept in the backyard. (Chickens don't have large femur bones; that's how I figured it out.) Sometimes we had pasta, for my birthday Colette roasted a duck. My favorite meal was her roasted chicken, which I still crave. The skin crisp, ready to crack if flicked, the meat tender and juicy inside. The greasy, deliciously salty "sauce"/gravy spooned over multiple servings. Always accompanied by haricots verts a l'ail (with garlic). It was the one time Colette didn't have to tell us "Il faut finir." (You must finish.)
Colette was a founding member of the clean-plate club. The food was delicious, and we wanted to eat it, but one serving sufficed for American girls trying to watch their weight in the land of lanky French women. We were often allowed to eat the dinner leftovers for lunch or even dinner the next night, but the next course was salad, which we had to finish entirely each night.
The salad bowl made its appearance just when Devan (the other American in the house) and I were ready to burst. We'd drink more wine to be able to eat more. The large glass bowl, more like a punch bowl, it seemed, would appear in the center of the table, the large leaves of buttery soft lettuce dressed with the same shallot vinaigrette night after night (the secret, Colette told me this time, is cider vinegar and vegetable oil). The French don't cut lettuce but carefully fold it into neat bites using knife and fork. This prolonged the salad course, a welcome diversion during digestion. Salad at the end, I've decided is a brilliant French diet trick. Cleans out the other stuff, I think. The good-natured argument was the same every night:
Colette: "Il faut finir la salade, les filles." (You must finish the salad, girls.)
Us: "But we're so full from all your delicious food."
Colette: "OK, but the lettuce is expensive because the fields are flooded (the Loire was flooded that spring), so you have to eat it all."
One of us: "If lettuce is expensive, then could you just buy less?"
Colette: "Yes, next time I will, but tonight I've made this, so we don't want to waste it."
Us: Sigh, deep breath, silent fight to see who would finish.
One of us: "Well, I had seconds on the meat, so I think xxx should have more salad."
The other: "Ok, well I know how much you like salad, so I think you should finish it."
Round and round it went, until we'd finished.
After the salad, cheese -- Sainte Maure, Camembert, Brie, Roquefort, chevre, any number of pungent French cheeses... which I at first had to wrap inside bread and swallow almost whole to tolerate them. By the end of 10 weeks, I'd learned to love the smelly French fromage.
Finally fruit, which we'd usually refuse, followed by dessert:
Colette makes a great tarte tatin, so good in fact that I never passed it up. That upside-down French tart, with its caramelly, buttery apples and crisp, flaky crust. Classically French and perfectly done.
On my birthday, I had a chocolate cake from scratch. Other times, pear tarts, ile flottant, creme caramel, pots de creme, chocolate mousse. How could I say no?
Finally a digestif on special occasions and coffee to wake us up so we could finish our homework.
That was my introduction to French food, 10 weeks in the Loire Valley in spring 2001. I gained 10 pounds, but I didn't care.
During those meals, which sometimes lasted two hours, I learned more about French and France than I did all day in my classes. We watched the news, I asked questions, Colette explained French culture and current events. Some nights, we skipped going out to bars with friends so we could linger around the table, drinking tea or coffee and talking with Colette. As she said the day I left, with tears in her eyes, she was more than my host mother, she was my friend. She still is, and the French lessons she gave me and love she put into the food she made had made a profound impact on me.
This visit, I spent two and a half days with Colette. I had great meals, unfortunately full of meat:

Cucumber-vinaigrette salad

Roasted pork with perfectly crisp, buttery, sweet fried potatoes

Salad with her shallot vinaigrette, which I of course, finished

Cheese: a dry and a moist Sainte-Maure

A slice of chocolate cake

Coffee

For lunch the next day,

A mild white fish with Hollandaise sauce

Cherry tomatoes ready to burst with ripeness and flavor

I'm forgetting what else, but the meal was superb.

"Il faut profiter de la vie," Colette told me when I protested as she refilled my wine glass with a crisp, yet semi sweet Touraine white.

The day I left, Colette made me eat lunch though I'd eaten breakfast just two hours before. No one leaves Colette's home hungry. So, I ate more tomatoes, a whole bowl, with a dab of creamy, full-fat mayonnaise (French mayo just tastes so much better than U.S. mayo), a sprinkling of salt and pepper and some good bread. Life was good, the wine was free-flowing, and I was happy.

Sitting around her table that first night, six years older and feeling so much wiser, tears welled up at one point. My French had returned, I spoke freely and we reminisced about those 10 weeks. We watched Patrick and Claire as the election returns came in, and we fell into that same rhythm: food, conversation, seconds, questions.

I asked Colette for some of her recipes to share, but I didn't get very many of them. I'll ask her again when I send the pictures we took my last night there.

cheating

2007-05-07T16:13:00.000-04:00

I'm cheating on my blog.
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/foodie/
Also, I was on vacation in Europe for two weeks. The first week I was a glutton in Paris, then the second week I redeemed myself by staying with a vegetarian couple in London. (I did have some fish and chips after a long night of drinking!)
I'll tell you all about it soon.

Twinkie musings and the F word!

2007-04-03T22:20:00.000-04:00

I'm slowly reading the Twinkie book, in between pleasure reading, book club poetry selections, travel guides and newspapers. It's quite interesting, but I'm treating it more like a textbook than a pleasure reading book.
I'm learning about HFCS, or high fructose corn syrup. Here's what I know so far: A chemist in 1811 discovered acid hydrolysis could be used to make syrup from heating potato starch with sulfuric acid. "Legend has it he was chasing Napoleon's 100.000 franc prize... to anyone who could locate a native sugar source," (Ettlinger) because France was blockaded. European sugar beets are still highly subsidized.
Apparently, producing corn syrup is similar to how we process a carb: breaking it down and absorbing the glucose.
Other tidbits:
Maltodextrin is used to replace fat in things such as reduced fat peanut butter.
Corn syrup is only a third as sweet as sugar and is usually paired with other sweeteners.

People are quick to judge corn syrup and blame it for obesity problems in America, as it's the primary sweetener in sodas here. (Overseas, soda is sweetened with real sugar!) The corn industry rightly blames larger portions and the increase of processed foods for the obesity problem. So while HFCS is not a part of a healthful diet, it is not solely to blame for our poor eating habits. American are consuming gigantic jugs of high-calorie soda and processed, low-fiber foods, which perpetuate the obesity epidemic.
Fiber is a word that many people tend to avoid when talking nutrition because it -- ahem -- keeps us, um, regular. (Blush!) You see those silly commercials about fiber additives. That stuff is usually just psyllium husk or methylcellulose -- neither of which is digestible. It pretty much just makes you... yeah. Not feel great. If you eat a well-rounded diet, you shouldn't need these. (Let's hear it for whole grains.)
Fiber is a good thing, people! It's important for us. It keeps our digestive system healthy -- thus reducing the risk of colorectal cancers -- and helps lower cholesterol -- thus helping our hearts. According to the American Heart Association, the average American eats 15 grams of dietary fiber a day; that's about half the recommended amount. There are two types of fiber: soluble or digestible and insoluble or indigestible fiber. The latter is important for our digestive system. Consider it like an exfoliator for our innards. The former is key for lowering cholesterol.
So how can you get fiber? Here are some foods that are high in fiber*:
Soluble fiber:
oats (the highest of any grain; make sure you get whole oats or steel cut oats, not the quick-cooking ones!)
beans, soybeans, peas
apples, berries, bananas
broccoli, carrots
Insoluble fiber:
whole grains (whole wheat breads, brans, etc.)
nuts and seeds
green beans, beets, zucchini
Take care of your insides. Eat fiber.
Top Five fiber-rich foods (according to the know-it-alls at the Oregon State University Micronutrient Center)
5. Quinoa (9g/cup)
4. Asian pear (10 g)
3. prunes (yes, granny!... 12 g)
2. wheat bran (17 g)
and the winners are....
1. legumes (15-19 g)

Monday night: tempeh tacos

2007-04-02T21:05:00.000-04:00

I tend to hoard groceries. For a single woman, I eat and buy WAY too much. I might eat a somewhat limited diet, according to some people, but I eat A LOT! Way too much, I think. I get so excited about cooking when I go to the grocery that I purchase a surplus. I'm pretty good about eating the fresh veggies that I buy, but I stock up on surplus items. (Don't even ask me how many boxes of Silk Unsweetened Soymilk, bags of assorted grains or cans of chickpeas I have in my pantry!)
Tempeh is not a protein that I have much experience with yet; I'm still experimenting. As a result, a block will tend to sit in my fridge for weeks until I use it. I admit; I'm still a bit cautious when using it.
I was feeling experimental Monday night, so I decided to try tempeh tacos. They were a success! Ok, so tempeh "tacos" is a misnomer; Mexican-style tempeh would be more accurate.

Mexican-style tempeh
1/2 package tempeh (I used three-grain), minced/crumbled
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 c Trader Joe's mole sauce (or to taste... a shortcut, I know! sorry!)
drizzle olive oil
3 tablespoons water
The tempeh cooking:
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the tempeh. Stir frequently and allow it to brown and crisp a bit, maybe two minutes. Then add the peppers, pepper flakes and onions and cook until vegetables are a bit brown. Add the mole sauce and stir well. Add 3 tablespoons water and cook until bubbly.
I served this with 1/2 cup of a whole-grain blend that I cooked with handful of cilantro (add at the end), garlic (1 clove minced during cooking) and 2 tablespoons lemon juice (at the end).
I added a slice of cheddar soy "cheese," which is a bit processed in its flavor for my liking. I served a salad on the side and added Trader Joe's cilantro-lime salsa and fat-free Greek yogurt to all.
Yum! I ran out of fresh tomatoes or I would have added some. Oh, and this would have been fabulous with some avocado or guacamole.

emptying out the crisper

2007-04-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

My new favorite food blog. The pictures are like food porn. Yum!

I must admit that I'm a little worried about getting sick while I'm overseas. I LOVE French food, and I'm excited to try Moroccan cuisine, but I worry that my body will not be happy about the change in diet. Oh well, Nutella crepes on the street, freshly baked croissants avec un cafe in the morning, rich dishes every evening. Even a nutritionista deserves to indulge every once in a while! As long as there are vegetables involved.

pasta with a history and a reunion

2007-04-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

PJ just returned from a three-week trip to Europe. We hadn't seen each other since the wine tasting in February and hadn't talked, except for a text message from him when he was in Paris. (He'd eaten at Un Zebre a Montmartre, where we had a perfect meal the year before.) We have a long history that involved many delicious meals on three continents. There was a sushi debacle in Korea: A couple of weeks after I arrived, PJ invited me to go to Incheon, a city on the West (Yellow) Sea, with him and his friends. We decided we'd go for a nice sushi dinner. Instead of letting the woman who could read and understand Korean read the menu and select -- and I had a guidebook with a menu reader in it! -- they decided to pick and choose.
And that's the story of how we ate skate sushi, along with other exotic sea creatures, such as sea cucumber. It was the only time I'd ever wished for plain old California rolls.
We reunited over buckwheat crepes in Bourgogne, then ate a mediocre, cliche French meal my last night in Paris.
I slaved over three kinds of cookies when I met his family, then served pistachio-crusted salmon and haricots-verts for his birthday.
I'm rambling...
For a year after college, I dated a guy named Andrew. He was a bit of a food snob, which helped me hone my cooking skills. With my erratic schedule, we often ate at home, and I created multi-course feasts for special occasions. That was before I cared so much about nutrition, back when I ate meat.
The one time he made me dinner, he served me this pasta. I was a bit skeptical at first. Canned tuna? (Martha Stewart ran a story this week on canned tuna, which reminded me of this recipe.) He was so proud of his creation, and for good reason. It was delicious!

Mediterranean pasta

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1T olive oil
1 anchovy filet
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes with no salt added
1 can Tonno tuna packed in olive oil
1 handful kalamata olives
1 t capers, drained
salt and pepper
handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
Parmesan cheese
fettucini, 1/2 package
Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, using a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the anchovy filet (optional) and stir, breaking it up. Add the red pepper flakes, then the tomatoes. Carefully break up the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the olives. Cook 10 minutes more. Just before serving, add the tuna and the capers. Toss the al dente pasta, mix well and sprinkle with parsley and cheese.
I served it with a salad and a Dijon vinaigrette:
2 t Dijon mustard
2T red wine vinegar
6T olive oil
pinch dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together vinegar, mustard and thyme. While still whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mustard acts as an emulsifier and helps keep the dressing from breaking.

p.s. this makes me happy

2007-03-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

This makes me happy. Saturday, I reached the checkout at Trader Joe's only to realize that I'd left my canvas and mesh shopping bags in the car. So I apologized to the cashier -- and btw, there was no line and I would have waited in line again without complaint -- and I walked out to my car at the far end of the parking lot and grabbed my reusable bags. I felt like a good person.
Things that anger me at the grocery store:
*double bagging
*cashiers that a.) look at you strangely if you ask for paper bags; b.) look at you even more strangely when you say you brought your own bag
*people who are too lazy to walk their carts back to the
cart corral
I'm happy tonight, because I've worked out and eaten well this week, so no more complaints.
Easy recipe:
Korean-style spinach
1 c frozen spinach or 2 c fresh spinach
a few drops sesame oil
1 capful tamari or reduce-sodium soy sauce
a few shakes red pepper flakes
a hearty shake of sesame seeds
Nuke until hot. Stir eat. Spinach=calcium, vitamin K, iron; sesame seeds=(The seeds are rich in manganese, copper, and calcium (90 mg per tablespoon for unhulled seeds, 10 mg for hulled), and contain Vitamin B1 (thiamine) and Vitamin E (tocopherol). They contain powerful antioxidants called lignans, which are also anti-carcinogenic. They also contain phytosterols, which block cholesterol production. Sesame contains one lignan unique to it called sesamin. The nutrients of sesame seeds are better absorbed if they are ground or pulverised before consumption)

Twinkies, yes, a post about Twinkies and other great health food books

2007-03-27T22:38:00.000-04:00

I apologize in advance for climbing up on my soapbox, but it's been a while. I partially do it to keep myself motivated and partially do it to motivate others. I'm reading this fabulous book right now:

along with a bunch of other health food books at a super-duper sale.

I'll blog about the rest as I read them, but for now... the E True Hollywood Story of a Twinkie's sordid past...

Sometimes I feel like eating soy substitutes is just as bad as eating other processed foods. It probably is, but my body (and recently my conscious) feels better when I use a soy substitute for dairy, eggs or meat in a recipe. I've been able to re-create favorite foods using soymilk and some other basic foods, It comes down to spices and other creative flavorings. Food is mostly about smell and texture, not taste. Most of taste is smell; we know this already. For instance, I was trying to re-create the taste of breakfast sausage in a tofu scramble. Not wanting to harm Wilbur's brethren, I broke down the taste of sausage in my mind: salt, black pepper, garlic, sage. Sage was the key. I added those spices to some TVP, added soy milk and voila: soysage!
The same goes for bacon. Much of what we believe to be bacon's appeal lies in the texture, the salty grease or the chewiness smokiness. With a few ingredients, you can re-create that taste.
So much of what we truly believe to be pure and healthful is actually processed, and I try each day to eat a little less of that.
I often eat horribly: Tonight, after 45 minutes of cardio and just as long on the Pilates mat, I pulled some pesto out of the freezer. (Yes, I make my own pesto. I use half the cheese and oil of traditional pesto. Thin it with a bit of water.) I crumbled some frm tofu, added red pepper and 2 cups of spinach and 1 cup soymilk and 1 T plain yogurt. Yum! But I ate it with plain old fettucini, and I had TWO bowls! Oink!)

Here's the story of how a Twinkie led to this great book:

A man took his young children for ice cream on a hot, summer day. Child: "Where does polysorbate 60 come from, Daddy?" Dad, admitting his fallibility: "I don't know."

And so, dear old Dad set out to find out just what all those incomprehensible chemicals in our food are and whence they came!
He chose the Twinkie,

perhaps one of America's most processed snack foods, and tracked down information about each ingredient on the wrapper. I've only just begin the book, but here's what I've learned thus far:
Each chapter is a different ingredient, and even the good -- and boring, healthful -- ingredients have an interesting history. (I'm omitting footnotes, etc., but all citations unless linked come from Steve Ettlinger's book.)
Flour:
Different kinds=different uses

Hard red spring and hard red winter wheats are high in gluten and protein; they come from the northern Great Plains and are used fo bread and pizza flour. That gluten, I've learned, is necessary for elasticity. The yeast produces gas, which stretches the dough.
Hard white wheat from Calif. and Kan. makes good bread flour.
Soft white flour from northern N.Y. and the Northwest is used for noodles and crackers.
Durum is extra hard and made in the northern states. It's used for (anyone, anyone, Bueller?) pasta.
Soft red winter wheat from the mid-Atlantic, South, Ohio and Miss. Rover valleys makes the best cake flour. (Cake flour is finely ground, powdery in texture. It's low in protein, and it has little gluten. It works best at a 50-50 sugar ratio.)
All-purpose flour is apparently not good for anything, say the experts.
Twinkies require 7 million pounds of flour a year!

Bleach: We bleach flour.

Chlorine is the 10th most common chemical made in the U.S.
Apparently, we do this because bleaching flour eliminates the gluten.
Cakes the require a lot of sugar need this bleached flour because they can get that coarse, dense texture.
Yeah, so bleaching things is dangerous. And complicated.

Enrichment blends (vitamins):
Flour is enriched with vitamins so we don't develop horrible diseases and our kids don't come out deformed. Still, the idea of adding chemicals from odd sources to food seems unnatural.

Sulfuric acid (used for make ferrous sulfate) is the world'd most produced chemical.
We get it from steel pickling, which involves running steel through sulfuric acid. Yum. Then the liquor (pickling liquor) is used in making ferrous sulfate for food. Double yum.
Niacin comes from the Alps.
Niacin is B3.
It is made of air, water and petroleum. Yep. Black gold.
petroleum is cracked, into methane, ethylene and hydrogen. Then, air is liquified, separated into N and O and mixed with H to make NH3. blah blah natural gas blah blah ethlyene and acetylene are mixed... ta-da: niacin, which looks like flour.
Our body can make B3, albeit inefficiently. We convert the amino acid tryptophan (hint: gobble, gobble).

B1: Thiamine mononitrate came from brown rice husks.
The manufacturing is a secret, but it involves eye of newt and hair of the dog... oops, I mean: "synthesized from basic petrochemicals derived from that old trusted food source, coal tar." (!)

Riboflavin: B2 comes from leafy green, fish, liver, etc.
A carbo mash (sugar, corn, etc) is made using a laundry list of methods involving yeast, bacteria, leftover beer grain, etc. Without riboflavin, we couldn't easily grow. And if you take a B vitamin supplement, your pee is neon yellow, says the book.
(Losing interest? Me too, for now. Nutrition lesson almost over.)
Folic acid is important. It prevents birth defects. Folic acid is the synthetic version of B9. It's better absorbed in the latter. It's made through fermentation as weel as with petroleum products.
These vitamins add up to: (per pound of flour)
24 mg niacin
20 mg ferrous sulfate
2.9 mg thiamine
1.8 mg riboflavin
.7 mg folic acid
1/10,000th of a pound of enrichment per pound of flour. (says Ettlinger)
I'll leave you for tonight with this food for thought: In each Twinkie, there is 4 3/4 t of sugar. Measure that out, then look at the size of a Twinkie. Then eat a carrot. Or some quinoa. I heart quinoa right now.

A failure of sorts

2007-03-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

So remember that post a couple of days ago when I said I was going to eat vegan for a week? Yeah, well, didn't happen. That night, I went to Green Papaya with my Freedom Porject group. I was tempted by sushi and quickly gave in. Delicious, succulent, sweet, oh so good.... mmm. We got some funky rolls, and while I'm usually a purist, I do love a good spider roll.

You see that, I heart fried things sometimes, too.
Other than that meal (I had tofu choochee curry again, but it was NOT very hot.), I have stuck to the cruelty-free diet.

Eating tofu/soy substitutes makes me feel like I'm indulging myself. I felt slightly guilty yesterday and today when I ate a bacon-egg-cream cheese breakfast sandwich... but no pigs, chickens or cows were harmed in the making of my breakfast! Morningstar Farms makes a fabulous -- yet funny-looking -- fakin bacon. I ate two of the marbled reddish-pink and white slices (just 50 calories, take that, Piggy!) between two slices of Ezekiel 49 bread slathered with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. To this I added a slice of soft tofu. Looks and tastes just like egg whites. Fool your friends by adding turmeric.

Delicious!

I stole a Rachael Ray recipe for spicy chicken satay sauce (Holy yum, Batman! Here's a recipe that sidetracked me while looking for the above link: salmon dumplings with coconut curry sauce. Omit the pork fat, s'il vous plait!) I've got a mild peanut/cashew allergy, but I love spicy peanut sauce. (Loved, is the correct verb, je pense.) So I swapped soynut butter and added extra red pepper flakes to this sauce. I also added crystallized ginger instead of sugar. I've been eating it for lunch all week with mixed veggies and my new Trader Joe's find (thanks to Polly!): orzo-red quinoa-baby chickpeas. Fantastique!

A side note: Quinoa is a phenomonal food. It's a whole grain, which keeps your insides happy, and is a nutritionally sound grain. It provides more protein than most grains (12-18%), and it has a wide range of amino acids! Throw some in with your rice, and you'll never know the difference.

No-bake cookies

2007-03-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

Monday night I was craving chocolate, and I started to make macaroons. Unfortunately, I was out of eggs, so I had to improvise. Now that I have soynut butter, I am trying to explore more recipes that require peanut butter.
(Ooh, note to self: Soynut curry sauce!)
No-bake cookies
1/2 c oat bran or whole oats
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c coconut, unsweetened
2 T soynut butter
2 T flax seeds

Melt the chocolate chips and soynut butter together over low heat or in a microwaveable bowl. Mix in the oats and coconut, then spread onto a silicon baking sheet. Sprinkle with flax seeds.
Allow to cool, then slice.

An experiment

2007-03-25T12:28:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try eating completely vegan for an entire week, starting today. I'm trying to explore meatless, dairyless cuisine and branch out my recipe repertoire.
A rather large Sunday brunch

1 tofu omelette with scallions (200 calories) and 1 slice cheddar-jalapeno soy cheese (35 calories)
1 slice Ezekiel 49 bread (80 calories) with 1 t Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (20 calories)
2 slices Morningstar Farms faux bacon (60 calories)
395 calories
And a word of advice. When handling turmeric, wear gloves or be very careful! I (temporarily) dyed my fingernails, a spatula and the counter a nice shade of neon yellow.

Spicy, spicy, and some soy!

2007-03-14T23:57:00.000-04:00

Work friend Kristin and I have had trouble getting our schedules aligned lately. First the cabin, then her mom's visit and wisdom-teeth surgery, then meetings at night for me and work for her. We've started a tradition of eating at a different (ethnic) restaurant each Wednesday, but we've skipped a few weeks. Green Papaya was her choice this week, and it was delicious!
I'm always on an unofficial quest to find my heat threshold, and in the U.S., Udipi's chana batura was the only dish to reach it -- and that was just one of a handful of times I ate it!
We arrived after 8:30, both famished: She'd had a couple of whiskey sours on a date, and I'd worked out beforehand. Sushi, curries, pad thai! Decisions, decisions.
I got choochee curry with tofu; Kristin got some basil noodles. We also got some sushi .(salmon skin roll and scallop nigiri for me. Yum!)
The heat scale was 1-4, so I got a 4. Heat aside, the curry was chock full of squash, eggplant, pineapple, tomatoes and red peppers, along with lightly fried tofu. The sauce was spectacular -- rich, coconuty... and spicy! It was perfectly balanced: sweet, sour, creamy, spicy, salty. An orgasm in the mouth.
My eyes welled up, my nose ran a bit, but I kept eating. Every bite made me feel better and better. Spicy food releases endorphins, so after a meal with a kick, it's like that post-sex feeling sometimes... although in a smaller dose. (The heat is pain, which tells your brain that to release the endorphins.) It causes a rush. This is why people like spicy food.
I ate it all.
I want more.
Sigh.
It was good for me.
Another great discovery this weekend: soybean butter.
I've got a little bit of a peanut allergy. (No anaphylactic shock, just gastrointesinal malaise and hives.) Growing up, my mom packed a PB-n-J sandwich in my lunch almost every day. Natural PB, even in the 80s, wheat bread and strawberry jam. By first grade, I'd decided I didn't like grape jam. My sister didn't like strawberry. This made for drama if the sandwiches were ever mixed up.

I haven't had a Reese's cup, a PB-n-J or a buckeye in more than three years. I've tried almond butter, but ce n'est pas pareil, as Colette was fond of saying. I'd given up on PB-n-Js, and then I noticed the soynut butter, which probably has been at Trader Joe's all along.
I fell in love with PB-n-Js once more.
I've eaten them for breakfast every day this week, on Ezekiel bread from TJ. It has no actual flour. It's all sprouted grains. I love it.

Soy and spice. I'm a happy girl!

Oh, and I've been experimenting with TVP. I'm sure everyone's anticipating an entry on the wonders of TVP. Wait for it. It's coming!

just one more thing

2007-03-09T22:36:00.000-05:00

I've lost count how many times I've posted during this blogging binge, but I've been saving up thoughts all week.
After my weekend of debauchery at the cabin, (When, I cooked refried beans, eggs and Smirnoff ice at 2 a.m., and the next night assaulted a man with a spatula who stole my grilled cheese! I'm told. I don't remember the former!) I stopped by to see my dad, stepmom and precious little sister, Bella. I opened their fridge to get a Diet Coke, and I was surprised by what did and didn't see. First off, I took the LAST Diet Coke! There's always Diet Coke there, which I like. In its place were three (!) cartons of Silk soymilk (two fortified and one chocolate), soy Swiss cheese and tempeh! What? I closed the door, shocked and asked my stepmom about the soy infiltration.
"I read your blog, and I've been making some changes," she said. I'd forgotten I'd sent the link to my family, too. I'm so happy someone reads it and heeds it! I love her, and I am always happy when anyone makes changes to better his or her health. (And again, I'm so far from perfect, but I try. I think that's all that matters.)
"Now if only I could your dad to give up his 'yard of beef,'" she said, laughing. My dad, a skinny guy, has an unnatural liking for unnatural meat products: SlimJim -- he travels for work, and I always laugh at the number of wrappers that litter the floor of his front passenger seat!, summer sausage and beef sticks of all kinds. She did, however, switch him from white to wheat bread. My sister loves that she gets to drink chocolate milk (well, soymilk).
So for Robin, here are some tips for cooking tempeh:
Dice it and saute (I can't get blogger to make accent marks. I really dislike that!) it in a bit of olive oil.
Bake it with pasta and tomato sauce.
Serve it instead of meat in a stir fry.
Strong sauces (teriyaki, sweet and sour, etc.) work well with tempeh.
Mushrooms compliment the flavor well. Depending on what kind you get, it has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture. (I made a tempeh-mushroom stroganoff recently that was good. Saute 1/2 an onion, some minced garlic, mushrooms and tempeh in olive oil over medium heat. Remove when browned. Add 1 T red wine vinegar -- it will sizzle, so stand back! -- a cup of plain yogurt and some dill. Cook until heated through, add the tempeh, onion and mushrooms back to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Serve with whole-wheat, yolk-free egg noodles.)
Crumble it (dice and then break up as you cook it) and mix some with meat to cut calories. Don't tell Dad.

Skinny lasagna

2007-03-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

The word tofu is a turnoff for many people, so I try to avoid using it when discussing dishes.

Two weekends ago, my fridge and cupboards were pretty bare but I wanted something warm and filling. I've been trying to make a dent in the random food in my freezer, so I pulled out a few things. Cooking need not be exact; this is a prime example of that. Mix, match, learn what flavors and ingredients work well together.

The finished project:

It was surprisingly good. Some of my experiments are a bit scary!
from pantry:
no-bake lasagna noodles
1 small can diced tomatoes
spices (1 t oregano, 1/2 t red pepper flakes, dried garlic, parsley, etc. This was a mix I bought it Italy last year.)
olive oil
from the black hole that is my freezer, so duh, thaw them:
roasted red peppers (1/2 cup, chopped)
basil pesto (a few tablespoons)
frozen spinach (thawed and drained well)
from the fridge:
Pecorino Romano
1 package firm tofu
some Greek-style plain yogurt

Directions:

Mix some of the spices into the drained spinach. Drain the tofu and slice horizotally (ideally in 1/4 inch slices). Place between dish towels, sprinkle with spices and press well to dry it. Drain some of the juice from the tomatoes. Mix the pesto and the tomatoes together.
Grease a loaf pan with olive oil. Place a spoonful of tomatoes in the bottom, top with a lasagna noodle, then alternate tofu slices, spinach, tomatoes and yogurt. Top with a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes, then slice. The tofu has the same texture as ricotta cheese, and the yogurt provides the mouth feel of cheese. The Pecorino on top offers saltiness. I like lasagna, and when I'm in the mood for it, there's no substitute. But this dish is a nice take on that rich dish. it's low-fat and very healthful. As the picture shows, itt was a bit soupy, so I might press the tofu better next time. But it was delicious!

un potpourri

2007-03-09T21:53:00.000-05:00

A few random, unconnected thoughts.
1. Substitute whole-wheat pasta or spaghetti squash for your regular pasta. Spaghetti squash is very low in calories and it stands up well to almost any kind of sauce. Wheat pasta has much more fiber.
2. Double the veggies. The traditional American plate is 1/2 protein, 1/4+ carbs/starch and 1/4- vegetables. Flip those: Half the veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 carbs/starch.
3. Substitute soymilk for cream and milk.
4. Use tofu in place of meat in a stir fry.
5. If I make a cream sauce (using low-fay cream cheese and soymilk), I serve it with steamed spinach instead of pasta.
I've been experimenting with nonmeat recipes, so I picked up "Jean Hewitt's International Meatless Cookbook." Hewitt was a food editor at the NYT, decades before the Frank Bruni era. The cookbook at first made me laugh: "Over 300 Delicious Recipes, Including Many for Fish and Chicken," it boasted. Well, technically, chicken is poultry, but...
In 1980, the recipes she offered truly were exotic; in 2007, they're simple, international dishes. Some of them are very old-school but full of potential (vegetable pate); others are more obscure (harira, Moroccan chickpea and lentil soup). There are so many more I want to try: garlic soup from Spain; curried eggs and masala potatoes from India; dilled carrot salad from France. Because I live alone, I only cook a few times a week. The rest of the time, I eat the leftovers. It makes for less work but sometimes a bit of monotony.

what a week

2007-03-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

I'm home on a Friday night, loving every moment of my sloth. I've had a long but good week, and I deserve some time to veg.
Tonight's dinner was less than nutritious: baked potato wedges and a Boca cheeseburger.
Food 911 featured Israeli food a few weeks ago, and a woman learned how to make falafel. I decided to alter the falafel recipe a bit and then bake it instead of frying it. I served it with a spicy curry sauce and some yummy steamed veggies.
The recipe:
2 cups chickpeas, dried
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
water to cover
Place chickpeas and spices in a bowl, cover with water and allow to soak in the fridge at least overnight. Drain and reserve water before proceeding.
In a food processor, add:
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 c onion or 1 bunch green onions, roughly chopped
1 egg
Pulse until roughly chopped, then add the chickpeas and pulse until a mealy looking paste forms. Add a little cooking water and the egg, pulse again.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with olive oil, pack in the chickpea mixture and bake 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Slice and serve.
I've also served it with a simple tzatziki sauce or just plain yogurt and sliced tomatoes.
Chickpeas are my new favorite legume/carb.

I heart the minimalist!

2007-03-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

Did anyone try the uberpopular, no-fail, no-knead bread recipe in the NYT a few months ago? Well, the genius behind that method is Mark Bittman, aka the minimalist. A few ingredients, a few supplies and voila: Simple, great food.
A few weeks ago he featured the kitchen's most underappreciated appliance: the broiler. Essentially, Bittman says, the broiler is an indoor, temperature-controlled grill. I've experimented with his techniques a couple of times. The broiler and a castiron skillet produce the crispiest crust on fish and meat. The method is simple; the results are spectacularly crispy.
I've tried scallops, salmon and mahi-mahi using the skillet-broil method. Mash-ees-uh-yo! (delicious in Korean.)
First, turn on your broiler, and place a cast iron skillet inside. Heat for 10-15 minutes. Dry the meat/fish well to ensure maximum crust. Working quickly, drizzle some olive oil, then drop the fish/scallops/etc. Do not move the meat/fish once it is in the skillet. Expect some splatter. Place back under broiler. Times vary, but scallops take just a few minutes. Fish takes less than 10 minutes!
Long live the minimalist!

Tangy, hot, sour and oh so good

2007-03-05T21:35:00.000-05:00

I hate cardio some days. Tonight, as I was sweating away on the Precor machine, I started fantasizing about dinner. Lunch was three-grain rice with edamame, tamari and sesame seeds, so was starving by the time I finished working out. My mind drifted from Korean food to Indian to Thai... or something like it. Mmm, hot and sour soup!
A quick stop at the grocery store for carrots and ginger, and I was ready to cook. The skanky store near my house only had silken tofu, not firm tofu, so I used mushrooms instead. I added a few odds and ends from the pantry. A success, with plenty of leftovers. This recipe could easily serve four.
An explosion of flavor in my mouth! Mmm!!!
Doesn't it look delicious?
Here's the recipe:
Hot and sour soup
1 box chicken or vegetable broth
1 can light coconut milk
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t red pepper flakes*
2 t rice vinegar*
2 t soy sauce*
1 t tamari*
1 t fish sauce*
1 lime or lemon
1 red pepper, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 t vegetable oil
1 small can bamboo shoots
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
* Start with half the amount of these seasonings, then add to taste. Adjust as you like.
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the mushrooms, carrots and peppers. Add the hot pepper flakes, garlic and half the scallions and cook for two more minutes over medium heat. Don't allow to develop color. Add the ginger, soy sauce/tamari, fish sauce and lemon/lime juice. Cook one minute, then add the bamboo shoots.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the coconut milk and cilantro, stirring well.
Serve with rice and sprinkle with remaining scallions.

has it really been two years?

2007-02-28T00:32:00.000-05:00

Life passes quickly, more so each year.
Two years ago, I was embarking on the journey of my lifetime. A year in Korea. I remember crying until I couldn't catch my breath when I left my mom at the gate. 365 days without her? How would I do it? It ended up being about 400 days sans Maman. I returned home a different person, a year older, sure, but a bit less innocent, a bit more jaded, a bit less idealistic. It wasn't Korea that changed me; it was my life choices.
That year was simutaneously the best and worst of my life. Korea is so important to me, and it was there that I learned a lot about myself... what I wanted, who I was, am and will be. I made great friends, taught intelligent children and, of course, ate delicious food.
Everything in those first few days was magical, special, unique. Soon, the grocery story would become just another errand in my daily life, but that first visit was so exciting!
Saturday, February 26, 2005 2:59 p.m.
I survived my first two trips to stores. Last night, after working a 10-hour day, stores were closed and I didn’t have the energy to try a restaurant so I was prepared to starve until morning or face another Luna bar for a meal. (Before leaving I bought a couple of dozen Luna bars, etc. for breakfast here. Thankfully, because that and coffee was the only food I had in my apartment yesterday morning. )In the few blocks after the school there are restaurants and businesses, but then it’s pretty much just apartment buildings for a solid 10 minutes. Finally I found a 7/11-type place and picked up some food. It’s strange picking out food without knowing exactly what it is. I bought some milk thinking it was soymilk. It was in a black and white and green container, just like the soymilk (duyu) I was used to seeing. Oops. I found some mushroom soup in the refrigerated section. I heated it on the stove -- no microwave -- and ate it for breakfast. It was heavenly! Maybe it’s because it was the first warm food I’d had in a day and a half. I also bought this triangular sushi with spicy tuna filling (though at the time I didn’t know what was inside.) called maeun chamchi samgakgimbap. I read about it in the guidebook. Only sold in convenience stores, it is a triangle of rice with a filling of beef (so gogi), tuna (chamchi) or chicken (dalk gogi) or even kimchi. It’s covered in dried seaweed (kim), which inevitably comes off when you unwrap the treat. I also saw some today in the grocery store, Carrefour. Seeing that familiar sign made me feel at home right away. (Carrefour is a French brand. The word means crossroads in French.) Grocery store is a bit of an understatement; it’s more like a mall. There are small boutiques, a beauty salon, a pet supply shop, restaurants – including KFC, Baskin Robbins and Burger King – and a section that has just about everything, like a Wal-mart. An accessories kiosk caught my eye. The woman and I talked a bit and I succumbed to the lure of the shiny objects. I bought a stick for my hair, one that can be used to secure a twist or bun. I paid 12,000 for it, which I suppose was worth it for the conversation. I walked around a bit before choosing my groceries and deliberately only chose a basket instead of a cart. I wanted everything, but knew I had to carry it a block home. There was a huge produce section, a sushi bar, with self-serve, prepackaged sushi pieces, various meat counters, counters with countless varieties of kimchi, namul (side dishes), tofu (dubu), seaweed (gim) and rice (bap/ssal). There was a large seafood section boasting giant blue crabs (gae)with legs spread two feet wide, for 33,000 a pound. Vendors crowded every aisle with samples of meats (gogi), kimchi and spicy (maeun) vegetables (yachae). There were coolers with meat for grilling pulgogi and galbi. Another case contained beef (so gogi) and vegetables (yachae) already seasoned and ready to be cooked. For 31,872, I bought:a case of soymilk (duyu) (it was buy one, get one free, so I had to carry two heavy cases of single-serve nuyu home!) a six-pack of diet Coke (actually Coca light, and it was 2,500 for it! I likely will not drink much of it here because it’s costly. I just wanted to buy it.) seven pieces of sushi (600 to 800 each, what a steal!) a platter of what I think is marinated tofu. It’s yummy. I’ve had it before and love it! It comes with sliced onion (yangpah) and peppers (gochu). Sugar cubes for coffee (I plan to start inviting my friends over for espresso. I love my little moka maker!) Mayonnaise (not sure why, but there was a 100 coupon!) A green tea (nok cha) that I saw on the register aisle for 50. It was in this heated cooler-looking cabinet. It was really neat! Rice. A bottle of Hite beer (mekju). An Asian pear (bae uh) (they are quite large, the size of a grapefruit, and orangeish-tan in color!)A block of tofu (dubu), which I plan to fry up for lunch tomorrow, along with some spicy soy sauce. Mmm! It’s pretty fresh. Yum!I think that was it. I saw some cheese, but completely bypassed it. It will be a treat here, not a dietary staple. I am going to eat only Korean food for the first three months, if possible. Another method that will keep me from overeating and over shopping: My freezer isn’t working. I can’t read the dials. They’re far beyond my limited vocabulary.I still feel so tired. I want to go to bed early each night, but I can’t sleep through the night. I wake after a few hours and wake feeling restless. My body doesn’t know what’s going on. For the first time in my life, I am constipated. I am happy here so far, but I just don’t have much energy. It’s a nice change to have so much free time. I know work will take up most of my time, but that’s all I have. I still have to write home to tell people that I have arrived, plus I have to send postcards. That can wait. For now, I want to rest. But first I need to go back to Carrefour. I want a curling iron, a sponge, a hairbrush and some other things. Oy, I am tired. I expected to go to the other side of the city today to explore, but I just don’t have the energy. Every time I don’t feel energetic, I get scared that I am falling into a depression. I don’t think that’s the case here; I think the jetlag is still wearing off. It’s to be expected that it will take a while to catch up. I will worry about running errands and settling in next week. No rush. I am here for a year, and I need to be well-rested for work on Monday. It’s my first day of teaching. Yesterday’s experience requires far too much energy to describe right now. Back to Carrefour.

un weekend plein de bons repas et amis

2007-02-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

It's noon on Sunday, and my weekend has been fabulous, despite the substantial apartment cleaning that awaits me today. (I have an in-home interview/inspection for Big Brothers/Big Sisters tomorrow night. It was rescheduled twice because of illness and a massive ice storm.)
Friday afternoon, I sat at my desk, anxiously awaiting news about that night's date with the international banker. Ever the diligent editrice, I left my phone on silent and forgot to check it. At 5, I noticed I had a message... oops. So plans had changed, and he invited me to the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert at the Aronoff, then drinks.
The concert was great: The group's singing is mesmerizing, and their voices are so smooth that it makes their singing seem deceptively effortless. And... we had box seats! I felt so important!)
It didn't let out until 10, so by then the sushi place he'd chosen for drinks/nibbles (Miyoshi in Florence) was closed. So we went to the Celestial Steakhouse in Mount Adams. We were in the Incline Lounge, with its fantastic view of Cincinnati and NKy. We had a few rich bites and a bottle of wine and danced to an old-school jazz quartet. He kept raving about the lobster bisque, but I wasn't very impressed. But the rest of the night was great.
The next day I woke up early to retrieve my car from a downtown garage (I couldn't drive after half a bottle of wine!) and spent the day being productive. I tried to go to the new coffee shop in Covington, but it didn't open until 10, so I settled on the next-newest coffee house there. The Bean Haus' coffee is pretty good, and the employees were perky and kind. After a morning and afternoon full of errands, I returned to Pike Street for lunch. In the mood for a sandwich and having had nothing in my belly for more than 12 hours, I got the Washington Post panini with turkey, bacon, tomatoes, avocado and asiago mayo. It came with kettle chips for $6.50. Next time, I'd hold the mayo and perhaps the bacon. I secretly love bacon, despite its lack of nutritional value, but this was chewy not crispy. The sandwich was excellent, and the "artisan ciabatta bread" is fresh and crispy. The atmosphere is good, the location is convenient for me, and the food/drinks were good. They have fancy to-go lids that open and close. I still managed to dump tea on the floor of my car when I left. Typical Stepf.
Last night for dinner, I went to Honey in Northside with my old friend Bethany. After MapQuest betrayed me and sent me on a wild goose chase around the West Side, we finally arrived, despite freezing rain and numerous detours. The wait for a table was more than 30 minutes (9 p.m. on Saturday), but we were seated quickly at the bar. We intended to get appetizers and wine, then move to a table, but we soon filled up on our starters. We went with honey fries because I'd heard that they were good, along with some polenta. I wasn't too impressed with either, but the atmosphere was nice and I'd be willing to try again. The polenta was good but not outstanding, with a smokey, caramelized onion flavor, topped with smoked mozzerella and dried tomatoes. It just needed something else, but it was good. We should have gotten the salmon, our first choice. Not sure why we chose the polenta. The fries, a mix of sweet and Yukon gold, were cut too thinly and were pretty limp. The chili-lime-honey dipping sauce was great, but the fries were just too wimpy.
After those rich meals, I am back to my healthful eating. I've got a pot of brown rice on the stove and a tofu-spinach-roasted pepper lasagna in the oven.
I cook on Sundays so I have meals for lunch at the beginning of the week. I separate them immediately into single-serve containers so I'm not as tempted to overeat.